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Montgomery Vindicator, Sevierville, Tennessee - Sept. 13, 1905

Unsolved Murder in Sevier County

Jesse Millinger disappeared early in the year of 1903 and had not been heard of since. At the time it was thought he had been caught in a bear trap, frozen to death and thrown aside. Friday Sept. 8, Bausdell and Stewart Ownby two huntsmen came upon a skeleton of a human being about a mile and a half from the path leading from Jake's Gap to Hazel Creek, with which were found a gun, a knife, a watch, a purse containing two dollars and a pair of glasses, most of which had been identified as the property of the missing Millinger. I. L. Maples Esq. empanelled a jury of seven men and began an inquest which will be completed Saturday. The right leg was broken just above the ankle which tends to confirm the original theory of his having been caught in a bear trap. Mr. Millinger was a blacksmith and was on his way from the Spruce Flats to Hazel Creek to work for a company. He stayed all night with a Mr. Ownby of Jake's Creek and departed next morning in the direction of N.C. when a heavy snow storm and a dark cloud overtook him, and he was never heard from any more until Friday.