Jackson County, Ohio

Simon Doles is Cast in a Pool

Resident of Ray Is Rescued After Murderous Attack near Mine

STILL UNCONSCIOUS, MAY AWAKEN SOON

Was Returning Home From New Dance Hall When Thrown in Pool

Simon Doles, well-known farmer living a mile north of the state road between Byer and Ray, was fished out of a 12-foot hole at midnight Thursday, unconscious and badly injured. His abandoned automobile was found later a quarter-mile away.

Apparently, Doles had been attacked on the lonely road northwest of Byer and when he seemed to be dead, his body was heaved over the edge into the pit of a strip-mine on the Bledsoe farm. When found by miners, he was lying in several inches of water. Doles had been at the "Log Cabin" resort near Allensville earlier in the evening. It is a new hot spot for dancing and drinking. Although not a heavy drinker, Doles had taken several during the evening and it is said was not quite himself when he left.

Seemed Badly Beaten

Mrs. Doles said he had little money when he left home at about 6 o'clock in the evening, and he still had some change in his pocket when found, indicating that robbery was not the cause. Doles had few enemies, if any, and no explanation is forthcoming about how he came to his fall.

He was injured on the head by a heavy blow, and has been un-conscious ever since. When a newspaper reporter visited the neighborhood yesterday, it was said that Mr. Doles was able to get out of bed but had not regained consciousness enough to be questioned. It seemed likely that he would be taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Lives In A Lonely Spot

The Doles family lives in a deep valley that opens out at the second rock cut a mile east of Ray. A by-road leads northward and his house is reached by that trail. His son, Rollo Doles, lives with his father. The latter is about 54 years old and is widely related in Jackson and Richland townships. Whether Doles' skull was fractured is not yet known. Sheriff Earl Stuck was inclined to think Wednesday night that Doles had been drinking enough to make operating his car dangerous, and that he might have gotten out and started walking home. In the dark he had plunged over the edge into the hole, a drop of 13 feet.

A night shift at the new strip-mine discovered the man lying prostrate in the water, and he was hurried to a physician at McArthur. Dr. T. B. Haas gave him immediate treatment, and he was then removed to his home near Ray.

Source: Newspaper article dated July, 1939