MARIBEL COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN CAR
OVERCOME BY MONOXIDE GAS, LOCKED IN CAR
Sad Fate Overtakes Alfred Pautz and Bride of Few Months Sunday
Deadly carbon monoxide is believed to have been responsible for the
tragedy which early Sunday morning snuffed out the lives of Alfred
Pautz and his wife Mayme, bridal pair of six months who were found
dead in their Ford coupe on a road near West Kewaunee, Kewaunee
county. The couple resided near Maribel, this county, where they are
well known. A double funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon from the
home of William Pautz rural route one of Denmark, where the bodies of
the two victims were taken yesterday after Kewaunee county authorities
had decided that no inquest was necessary and that death was due to
gas poisoning. The funeral services will be held from the Maribel church,
the Rev. Kloska officiating.
Car Stalled, Death.
Mr. and Mrs. Pautz who since their marriage on June 25 last year had
made their home with the husband’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Pautz
near the Manitowoc county line, left there a week ago to visit with Mrs.
Pautz’s mother, Mrs. F. Vlasck in Kewaunee county. Last Saturday the
couple decided to go to Krok for a visit with an aunt there and it was
while enroute there that the tragedy overtook them. The automobile, with
lights on and the engine running, was discovered on the highway off the
main road, near the farm of August Karl, six miles from Kewaunee, Sunday
morning. Investigation revealed the presence in the car of two persons,
both apparently asleep or dead and when efforts to open the door of the
machine failed a call was dispatched to the authorities at Kewaunee. The
district attorney and sheriff, arriving 35 minutes later, broke the glass
in the door of the car and it was found that Pautz and his wife were dead,
although apparently death had resulted but a short time previously. Every
effort to revive the two failed and the bodies were removed to the Karl
home and later taken to the Pautz home near Maribel.
In Snow All Night.
Mr. Karl near whose farm the car was found, said that he had heard the
engine of the machine running late Saturday night and that lights were
burning on the car. Later near midnight, when he was again out doors,
he saw the car on the road but the engine was quiet and no lights were
burning and he thought the machine becoming stalled, had been left by
its owner until morning. In the early morning, however when sons of Mr.
Karl left the house they heard the engine of the car and stated that the
lights were burning. When the machine did not leave the spot where it was
discovered, the Karls made their way to the scene to investigate and it
was then that the discovery of the plight of the unfortunate occupants
was learned. When an effort was made to open the door of the car, it was
found that the handle had been broken off and the other door was locked
from the inside. No response to their repeated rappings and calls being
received, it was decided to notify the authorities at Kewaunee and upon
their arrival the death of the two in the automobile was established.
Theory of Officers.
It is the theory of the officers that Pautz and his wife became stalled
on the road late Saturday night, and that when Pautz found it impossible
to proceed the couple had decided to remain in the car for the night and
attempt to continue their journey in the morning. The fact that death had
ensued but a short time before the bodies were found supports the belief
that after spending the night in the coupe, Pautz had succeeded in starting
the car but the two had been overcome by monoxide poisoning while endeavoring
to get the automobile going.
Near Destination at Time.
Mr. and Mrs. Pautz were within a mile and one half of their destination,
the home of the aunt at Krok, when their car stalled. The location is a
side road off the main highway near West Kewaunee and about six miles from
the city of Kewaunee. The Kewaunee county district attorney said today that
there was no explanation of the double tragedy except that of poisoning
from carbon monoxide.
Pautz 21, Wife 19.
Pautz, a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Pautz, was 21 years of age while his
wife, who previous to her marriage was Mayme Melera, of Carlton, was 19,
having reached this age on February 4, this year. Pautz is survived by his
parents and two brothers, Aaron and Edward, both at home while Mrs. Pautz
leaves her mother, Mrs. Vlasek of Ellsville and three sisters, Mrs. Wesley,
Manitowoc, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Martin, residents of Kewaunee county. The
funeral at Maribel tomorrow will be a double one with the bodies of the two
laid side by side in the same grave. The tragedy has cast a pall over the
section where the young couple were well known and popular.
Manitowoc Herald News, Tuesday, February 28, 1928, Page 2