Many Persons Drop from Sight.

"The most remarkable instance of disappearance ever known," were the words used by a detective a few days ago when speaking of a case he was employed upon. It was not a haphazard expression, nor was it original, for it has been used of many in the list of those who have mysteriously disappeared. A report of the Commissioner of Police of London recently noted that 174 men and women of that city had sunk out of sight of their friends in the year. Many persons disappear every year in this city. One of the most remarkable cases of disappearance was that of Lieutenant Edward W. Remey of the navy, a brother of Judge Advocate General William B. Remey and Rear Admiral George C. Remey. The last seen of him was when he walked down the gangplank of the steamship Roanoke in this city on Feb. 17, 1887. Every effort was made to find him, but no trace was discovered. Had he been a man of irregular habits there might have been some suspicion as to the cause of his disappearance, but he was a sober, straightforward officer, and no officer had a better record, stood higher in the profession or was more greatly esteemed.

Another naval officer who disappeared a few years ago was ex-Passed Assistant Engineer Richard H. Buel, an officer who had served in the civil war with distinction. He started for Boston on Dec. 20, 1889, after which no trace of him could be discovered. His father was the Rev. Samuel Buel, at one time dean of the General theological Seminary of this city.

There are many who will recall Stillman S. Conant, one of the editors of Harper's Weekly, who started from his sanctum for his home in Brooklyn on Jan. 16, 1885, and though search was made for him in various parts of the United States and Europe, where he was reported to have been seen, nothing about him has ever been learned.

Thomas W. Fisher's disappearance more than ten years ago attracted a great deal of interest. He was a real estate broker in Washington, and, as was his usual custom, he one evening went to Baltimore to visit the young woman to whom he was engaged. The couple became involved in a dispute over a trivial matter, and the young woman declared their engagement off. Mr. Fisher left the house, and, after wandering about the streets for some time, left Baltimore for New York. He at once wrote to his former fiancee, apologizing for his rude conduct and begging her forgiveness, but she was bent upon punishing him and did not reply to his letter. Fisher then left New York and went to Albany, from which place he wrote again to the young woman, saying that he would not burden her again with his petitions, and that he intended to commit suicide. The young woman then replied to his letter and asked his forgiveness, but the letter was returned with the stamp upon it, "Not found," and nothing has been heard from the young man since that day. -- New York Tribune.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 10, 1903, page 3.