#OnThisDay June 14, 1893 – Two men rob a U.S. Mail stagecoach near Huston, ID, sparking a nine-year manhunt into Mexico.
Around midnight, two men held up the stagecoach at gunpoint as it approached Huston, ordering the driver to abandon the mail and walk to the nearest town. The robbers, believing the coach was carrying thousands of dollars, then drove it to a nearby roadhouse and tore open the mail pouches.
But they were disappointed to find nothing of value, and they abandoned the stagecoach.
In 1895, one of the robbers, W.B. Marsh, was arrested and sentenced to prison. But the ringleader, Charles G. Webb, remained at large.
In 1897, Postal Inspector Almon P. Frederick took over the investigation and tracked Webb to Santa Rosalía, Mexico. Lacking the necessary authorization to extradite Webb, Inspector Frederick’s investigation came to a halt.
However in 1902, the investigation was reopened after the El Paso, TX postmaster reported Webb was moving through border towns and continuing his criminal activity in the United States and Mexico. On March 19, 1902, Webb was finally arrested in Parral, Mexico.
Following a hard-fought extradition battle between the two countries, Webb was extradited to the United States and sentenced to prison for his crimes.
Image 1: Mugshot of Charles G. Webb
ALT Mugshot of Charles G. Webb