Chief Askew's Diary: May 20, 1930

Too wet to plow; notorious thief 'Cat-Eye Annie' escapes from prison -- again

Chief Askew wrote that it was “Fair and pleasant to-day — everything quiet in our line.” That is, the law enforcement line. He went on to comment on the situation for farmers. “Too wet to plow to-day, where ground has been broke, Farmers getting good stands of cotton, corn & Etc., everything looking pretty.”

Things may have been quiet in the law enforcement line in Newnan, but that wasn’t true in Auburn, New York, where the notorious jewel thief Lillian McDowell, aka “Cat-Eye Annie,” had escaped once again. Paid subscribers can read on this female Houdini of the prison system.

The undated newspaper clipping of Lillian McDowell was found on Reddit.