Legendary Lawmen of the Pines

[PieONeer]

There was a passage in either John Mcphee's "The Pine Barrens" or Leo Coakley's "Jersey Troopers" that talked about how Ellis Parker once recruited a handful of pine barrens woodsman to guide him through the pines in search of a buried body, which they eventually found only because the sphagnum moss was growing in a different way in the area.

Does anyone have any further knowledge of Ellis Parker's work in the Pine Barrens? He was the chief detective in Burlington County for several decades, including during the prohibition era, but this was the only example of him in the actual pines that I remember hearing about.

Also were there any other famous lawman from the pines? It makes me wonder who investigated the crimes that might have happened on the frontier roads between Philadelphia and the shore during the times of early quaker villages. This history seems to be forgotten.

 

[bobpbx]

Here's one.

Disappearance and Murder in Hampton Park - 1907

I've been working on the history of Hampton Furnace and Hampton Park, chipping away it over the last couple years. Eventually I'l finish it, but in the meantime, I thought I would post some interesting things I've found along the way. Many may have heard of the robbery near Hampton in 1916, in...

forums.njpinebarrens.com

 

[Teegate]

Yes, Parker was involved with the Rider murder and many other events that went on in the pines. When Giuseppi Iraca who killed Rider was convicted and sentenced to death he escaped and Parker recaptured him and Iraca was eventually electrocuted. You can find many articles on him in old newspapers. I believe Beck even mentions him in his books. He wrote about him often in his newspaper articles.

 

[oji]

His downfall came with his involvement in the Lindbergh baby kidnap/murder.