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The Adventures of Isabelle

Part 6

The Final Chapter

April 23, 1941

Isabelle’s Back In ‘Clink’ For Good (We Hope!)

  Little Isabelle, gun-toter and jail breaker of no small fame, was back in the “clink” today after her most recent scrape with justice late yesterday in San Francisco, California. Miss Messmer’s social error this time was the fact that she picked on a “nice man” who turned out to be a plain clothes detective.

  A lot, she told ‘Frisco police, has happened to her since she left a dull Elwood existence for an adventurous life that include the slaying of a House of David baseball pitcher.

  At any rate, Ector county Texas authorities were en route to San Francisco today to pick up the human dynamite.

  Isabelle’s arrest occurred yesterday when she was accosted by a plain-clothes detective. A minor amount of mystery as to what occurred between she and the detective still exists today. However, from San Francisco police headquarters came the story that Isabelle had decided on second thought, she wouldn’t kill the arresting officer after all. “He was pretty nice,” Isabelle publicly concluded.

  Isabelle was using the name, “Jean Lamar.” After divulging to police her San Francisco habitat, investigating detectives discovered a fully loaded .32 caliber pistol hidden in a chair. Isabelle didn’t tell police what she intended using the pistol for, since she had decided she wouldn’t kill her plain-clothes detective friend.

  In her story to police, Isabelle “confirmed” that she had visited Elwood on March 16 but there was good reason to doubt that she was telling the truth. She also insisted that she had darted out the back door of her mother’s home in Elwood when six Elwood police marched up to the front door.

  Since Isabelle has been making a career out of attempts to make police look silly, this statement bore a rather broad inference. A representative of The Call-Leader discussed the matter briefly with Elwood Police Chief Michael Fogerty this morning.

  Chief Fogerty frankly said he didn’t see any reason for anybody to refute anything that Isabelle might say. He pointed out that neither his police department or any good police department would have attempted, in this manner, to capture Isabelle.

  He further explained his position by stating that Isabelle had said a lot of things which didn’t resemble honesty on the march.

  From these statements, newspapermen were convinced that not only was the rear door to the home not left unguarded but that Isabelle may be suffering from hallucinations of her ability to walk both in and out of police traps.

  Isabelle’s last known visit to this area occurred on June 4, 1940 when State Policeman Kenneth Wines nabbed the girl as she walked out of a Tipton theatre. Her sojourn at the Tipton bastille was somewhat eventful in that Isabelle tried to commit suicide, kill herself, her mother and Partolman Wines as well as threaten to extinguish the somewhat official life of the Tipton county sheriff.

  As the matter stands now, she will have to escape from jail again in order to achieve these threats.

  Texas officials did not reveal today what plans they have in mind to retain Isabelle as a permanent guest this time. Since she escaped by means of a lattice work from the Odessa , Texas jail on the last two occasions, there was suggestion from official quarters today that somebody remove the lattice work and weld the jail-house door.

April 29, 1941

Return ‘Gun Girl’ To Jail In Texas

San Francisco, April 29 (U.P.) Isabelle Messmer of Elwood, Ind., convicted murderess, today was en route to the Ector County, Texas, jail she escaped twice while serving a sentence for the slaying of Buford Armstrong.

  Miss Messmer waived extradition proceeding yesterday when brought before Municipal Judge Theresa Meikle. She said she would behave herself if the authorities didn’t treat her too harshly.

  Arrested here last week after being at large five months, Miss Messmer was taken into custody by Sheriff W. M. Marra and County Attorney O. E. Gerron, who left immediately with her for Odessa , Texas .

The End.

Notes from Nancy:

  Well, what a story this has been! Since the last news article on April 29, 1941 , I have not found any more escapades printed in the paper. But that doesn’t mean there have not been any!

  Here is some personal information I have been able to find about Isabelle:

Born in 1915 – 1917 (conflicting dates)

Her Mother and Father were divorced when she was about 4.

Father moved to Colorado. Mother re-married and Isabelle had a step-brother and a step-sister from that marriage.

After being released from prison, Isabelle lived in Baton Rouge , La. , Chicago , Il., maybe Noblesville, In., and settled in the Tampa , Fla. area. If she had any more run-ins with the law, I am unaware of those.

She married later in life and had no children. Isabelle died in 1984.

Many of the news articles about Isabelle described her as: having deviltry, a psychopathic personality, a romancer, problem child, a molester of men, a most vicious criminal, having a wildcat temper, tiger-like murderess. But the comical side to all these descriptive words is the fact that Isabelle was 5 feet 2 inches and weighed 95 pounds!

I have written all the articles as printed in the Elwood Call-Leader, except for one omission – never have I divulged her mother and step-father’s names. I leave that to family privacy. And just maybe this skeleton is locked away for good! Maybe!

Submitted by ... 

Nancy Sumner, EHS/FHS '66