Boy Hanging Still Deep Mystery; Another unsolved death, the third within a year and a half for Patterson, seems rated to go down in the records as authorities find themselves completely baffled in trying to determine how eleven-year old Jackie Sykes was hung last week. A week of floundering among the meager clues presented has left the three agencies figuring in the investigation exactly where they started - with three possibilities of accident, murder and suicide and not a feather-weight of evidence to tip the balance more toward one theory than another. Jackie's body, nude except for tennis shoes, was found dangling from a rope on the limb of a walnut tree on the J. M. Soares grove, at the eastern edge of town, about 6:15 Friday evening just four days after he had last been seen. It. was less than 200 yards from his home. The discovery was made by four playmates Peter and Harold Storch, Lauren Camara and Wilson Roche. According to their story, the boys had been attracted by the sight of a large bird hovering over the grove and thinking it was a hawk, got a gun and went after it. They then saw it was a buzzard and at the same time caught sight of the body. The location was so shielded that it was almost impossible to discern the body at any distance. Local officers were hurriedly summoned, the sheriff's office notified, and the body cut down. It was suspended from a limb about eight foot off the ground by a short length of rope and the body dangled about a foot from the ground. A well-tied slip-knot was around the neck, with the boy's handkerchief inside of the loop, placed as if to prevent chafing from the rough hemp. A long and a short piece of rope lay nearby, one with a similar knot tied in one end. Other articles included a can of tobacco with an old pipe resting on it; a box of patches; the boy's knife with a blade open, and an extra large cork. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and had evidently been hanging since within a short time after the boy was last seen the preceding Monday. The arms were projected stiffly outward from the shoulders at a peculiar angle. The tree where the tragedy took place is near the eastern edge of the grove. The grass underfoot was well trampled down and according to the boy;'s playmates, had been a favorite gathering spot for their activities. Due to the state of the body, but little examination of the remains was made, yielding no clues, and the remains were cremated Saturday afternoon, following a funeral services at the Davis & Evans chapel, with Rev. C. A. Hedlind officiating.

No Clues; These are the meager facts upon which any theory of how the boy met his death must be built. They offer a basis for the suppositions that the boy was the victim of a maniac; that he accidentally slipped while enacting some scene from a story he had read; or that had deliberately committed suicide. First, impulse was to attribute the hanging to the last theory, connecting it with the Joe V Azevedo hanging by suicide. But when it was realized that the two acts were close together and that both bodies had been suspended at the same time it was impossible for the boy to have known of the other act. And later investigations has placed this motive last in the possible theories, although not completely dismissing it.

Murder Theory; The murder theory is placed foremost by the authorities, but as far as revealed, they have nothing to back it up. The torn clothing, the cork which might have been used as a gag, and the manner in which the garments were placed, right side out, rather than in disarray, indicate they might have been slipped off by another party than pulled off. Against these points are the facts that the boy's garments were habitually more or less tattered, due to his extreme activity; the cork showed sign of having been used as a gag, which it must have if any teeth marks had been in it; and the placing of the clothing is a slender clue, that might be governed completely by chance. Also Jackie was an exceptionally agile and husky youth. Any attempt to overpower him would have resulted in a strenuous struggle which would have been imprinted in the dry grass and soil in some manner, but no signs of such a struggle were found. He might have been subdued by a blow, but the body gave no signs of this, as far as examined. If the act of a manic it would have probably been some itinerant, and while the scene is not greatly removed from the railway, yet it is a secluded spot well off the path of hoboes, and none were known to frequent the place. Accident Theory; The theory of accident is an entirely plausible one, yet lacks any definite clue pointing that way. Possibly the strongest item to support that idea is the handkerchief around the neck. No murderer would be so considerate, yet it would be a natural impulse in play to place the soft cloth inside to prevent the rough rope from scratching. Possibly that playmates were involved in the hanging scene and fled in panic when their plans went away has been entertained and the authorities have grilled the other boys accustomed to playing there, but with no result. On the other hand, the boy could have easily done it unassisted. He was accomplished in knot tying, and the tree branches are so located that he could have climbed up and stepped, or slipped off a branch, after arranging the rope. The sticking point in the theories presented by the awkward angle of the arms and legs would fit into this theory nicely, as their position is exactly that of a desperate boy, straining every muscle to gain a hold on the branch and pull himself up. Whether such a pose would be held as the body stiffened is a debatable point that could not be checked locally, but which should be capable of determination.