100 years ago in North Idaho: One of the Sandpoint pool hall murder suspects was captured and shared his version of the story

One of the fugitives wanted for a Hope, Idaho, murder was arrested and confessed, but the other fugitive may have made another escape – this time from a Colville jail office.

The first man, Robert Ford, alias Noah Arnold, told the full story to police from his jail cell in Sandpoint. He said he met the other man, who called himself McWilliams, alias Mike Donnelly, during the Jack Dempsey fight in Shelby, Montana. The two men decided to head west to Sandpoint.

McWilliams talked about holding up several places, and when they saw W.A. Crisp’s pool hall, McWillams said, “Come on this way and I’ll show you.” Ford said McWilliams did the shooting.

During the weeklong manhunt, Ford said they just dodged in and out of bushes and never got more than 7 or 8 miles from Hope.

During a confrontation with a posse at a Pack River bridge, McWilliams was shot in the scalp and in the wrist. During another confrontation at a ranch, Ford and McWilliams separated. Ford headed toward the Great Northern tracks and bought a ticket on a passenger train.

Ford was taken off the train at Newport, arrested and brought to the Sandpoint jail.

Meanwhile, a man thought to be McWilliams/Donnelly was arrested near Addy by the sheriff and was taken to the county jail in Colville.

“He was left in the jail office without handcuffs while the sheriff went to inspect the cells, and took French leave,” a Colville correspondent reported.

This may have been another case of mistaken identity. Ford told police he believed McWilliams/Donnelly was actually still in the vicinity of Hope and had vowed never to be taken alive.

So the manhunt continued.