Man Solves Mystery Of His Own Death

Harold Lewis of Beaverton, Ore., walked into the Times-Clarion office and asked to see a clipping describing his death 63 years ago.

He isn’t buried here after all.

To help solve the 63-year-old mystery, Lewis had this explanation: He ran away from home in Missoula at the age of 12, hopped an eastbound freight, but was kicked off as the train passed through Harlowton. He then made his way to Nebraska where he found his father, only to learn that he had been reported killed in the central Montana railroad yard.

The day before Lewis was kicked off the train, another boy was killed in a switching accident and Lewis’ mother mistakenly identified a picture of the body as her son, he later determined.

Times-Clarion publisher Jerry Miller said Lewis had never reported the mistake and now the question is who is buried in the unmarked plot at the local cemetery.