Newspaper Articles » Ray Elliott - Lost Boy

Century-old Mystery -

DNA tests may answer question posed by Old Creamery play

AMANA - Every playwright loves a good mystery, but you usually don't expect to find yourself in the middle of it. "It was fluke," says Tom Johnson, 61, producing director of the Old Creamery Theatre Company in Amana who penned "Lost and Found," currently playing at the company's New Depot Studio Theatre.

For Tom, the mystery began last year when he and his wife, Meg Merkens, bought what he calls a "lottery box" of miscellaneous items for $1 at a Marengo auction. The box is one of those you buy out of curiosity, just to see what's in it.

Meg found a book published in 1895. Titled "Lost and Found," it was the tale of Ray Elliott, a 4-year-old Marengo boy who disappeared May 12, 1893, while playing in the sandbox. His distraught family and friends spent the entire weekend searching for the boy with no luck. The missing boy's mother slowly became a "basket case" while his father followed every lead, looking at 20 boys purported to be his son. None was.

Then, 14 months later, the parents claimed one boy as their own. It set off a series of controversies and court hearings that resulted in them keeping the boy even though a huge shadow of doubt was cast over the judge's decision.

"I read it," Tom says. "It's really a great story. A mystery."

Tom was so intrigued by the Rev. W.B. Phelps' book that he knew it would make a great play. Tom has been with the Old Creamery Theatre since its inception more than 30 years ago. He's written three successful plays for the company. This one he'd conclude by polling the audience. Was the right boy returned to his parents?

The year's play schedule was set by Christmas, including the performance of "Lost and Found." Then a mysterious woman showed up. She told a theater representative that this play was about her father's uncle. Then she disappeared before giving her name.

Undaunted, Tom went ahead with the schedule. And just before the play opened, the woman showed up again. She gave her name. She told Tom what she knew about the story. Maybe, they thought, it could be solved once and for all.

It seems that when the father, George Elliott, first met the boy who was returned, the boy claimed to be Roy Burke. But, about 20 minutes into the conversation, George said, "Yep. This is my boy."

Accounts vary, however, when the boy met his "mother." Some say he identified her immediately, while others say he didn't know her.

In court, about 50 people testified that the boy was Ray Elliott. Just as many said it had to be Roy Burke. The judge, ruling that the Elliotts were poor but honest people, let them keep him.

"That's how the story ends," Tom says, "but I'm not convinced."

The woman told Tom the returned boy's son lives in California. And the son of a known Elliott brother has been located in Cedar Rapids. And both men, now in their 80s, have agreed to submit DNA samples for Tom.

While testing won't be completed for about a month, Tom is overjoyed. It should be able to determine if their fathers were really brothers or if the returned boy was really Roy Burke, who was no relation.

"I'm willing to spend $1,000 of my own money to find out," Tom says. "I just have to do it."

In the meantime, as the play continues through Sept. 22, it's up to you. Is it Ray or is it Roy?

(Tom Johnson, producing director of the Old Creamery Theatre Company in Amana, became so intrigued with the 1895 book "Lost and Found" that he wrote a play about it and continues to search for the real answers to the story about a kidnapped Marengo boy who may or may not have been returned to his family.

More than a century after Ray Elliott disappeared from his Marengo family's yard, a mystery still remains as to whether the boy returned to the family a year later was really Ray or was actually Roy Burke, as some people claimed. DNA testing of descendants in the next month should solve the mystery.)

DNA testing indicates Elliotts got right boy

AMANA - George and Anna Elliott got the right boy back.

No sense beating around the bush about it now. The "Lost and Found" story, turned into a play by Tom Johnson, producing director at the Old Creamery Theatre Company, has been around since 1893. But thanks to modern technology, the mystery has been solved.

If you were with me Sept. 6, you may recall that Tom's play is based on a book discovered at a Marengo auction.

Published in 1895, it tells about Ray Elliott, a 4-year-old Marengo boy who disappeared May 12, 1893, while playing in the sandbox. His distraught family and friends spent the entire weekend searching for the boy with no luck.

Over the next 14 months, the missing boy's mother became a "basket case" while his father followed every lead, looking at 20 boys purported to be his son. None was.

Then, after a series of events, the Elliotts claimed a boy from Waterloo as their own. It set off a series of controversies and court hearings that cast a shadow of doubt over the judge's decision to let them keep the boy.

The main controversy came over the way the boy was brought to the Elliotts' attention by a Waterloo woman who had lost her own son to diphtheria.

It seems that, soon after that tragedy, a stranger gave the woman a boy to replace the one she'd lost. The woman, uncomfortable with the situation, thought her new "son" resembled the missing Elliott boy and contacted George Elliott.

In Waterloo, George talked to the boy for 20 minutes and declared that he was his son, even though the boy claimed to be Roy Burke, not Ray Elliott. While some accounts said the boy recognized his mother on sight - "You are my real mamma, aren't you?" - other people claimed the boy only said what people expected him to say.

In court, about 50 people testified that the boy was Ray Elliott. Just as many said he was Roy Burke. The judge, saying the Elliotts were poor but honest people, let them keep the child.

As a play, that's where the story ended. But Tom would poll the audience after each performance, and often it thought the Elliotts had received the right boy.

But Tom studied photographs before and after the boy disappeared and thought a mistake had been made. He wanted to know for sure.

When Tom learned the returned boy had a son in California - Richard Elliott - and that another son of George and Anna had a son in Cedar Rapids - Robert Elliott - he knew DNA tests might solve the mystery.

Both men, in their 80s, agreed to provide DNA samples. Tom paid $1,000 for testing and sent the samples to a lab in Houston. He received the results last month but didn't look.

Instead, he kept them sealed until revealing the contents after a special performance of the play Sunday night.

The Y chromosome analysis shows that Richard and Robert share 9 of 10 matches and that the non-match is consistent with mutations.

The conclusion: It is likely they share paternal lineage.

"The Elliotts obviously got the right child back," Tom says with a laugh. "I'm eating a little crow."