Presidio County NEWS

Presidio Man Fatally Injured In Crash PRESIDIO, Oct. 9. (AP)—Rudolph H. Johns, 55, of Presidio was fatally injured in a plane crash at Trancas, near Chihuahua City, Mexico, yesterday. His body was returned by plane and burial will be held tomorrow. Johns was a Presidio school trustee, cactus dealer, lumber importer and a resident here for 24 years. Survivors include his widow and three daughters, Mrs. Cletus Keyes, Mrs. Norton Hubbard and Mrs, M. L. Murray of El Paso. Morning Avalanche, Thursday, Oct. 10, 1946

MARFA, Tex., Texas sheriff today March 14—(AP)—The hunt for the killer of a had all the elements of a Wild West.thriller—a hand-cuffed fugitive a foot in a rugged mountain .chain, pursued by the armed posse on horseback. Grim-faced sheriffs of the Big Bend country of southwest Texas, Texas Rangers and border riders were,to ride at dawn—gun belts buckled .tight—seeking again the trail of the unidentified slayer. The shooting early, Sunday of Sheriff O, W. (Blackie) Morrow, 43, on a lonely mountain road flipped back the pages of time to the days of the old West. It brought back the posse on horseback—booted men packing six-shooters; the sign cutters men who can read a story in a smashed cactus, a scuffed patch of grass. Texas Ranger Gully Cowsert rode into Marfa late last night and said a mounted posse had tracked the killer of Sheriff Morrow 15 miles through rugged mountains, but lost his trail near the Mexican border Cowsert Was to lead the posse again today, River riders patrolled the Rio Grande through the night, to prevent the killer from slipping into Mexico—if he hasn't done so. Sheriff Morrow, a popular navy veteran serving his second term, was shot and left dying early Sunday on a lonely road between here and Presidio, nestling against the Rio Grande. The sheriff, blood pouring from a hole through the left side of his body, managed to get into his car and drive a mile toward Presidio before he died The shooting occurred about 11 miles north of Presidio, midway between there and Shatter, a ghost silver and lead mining town, Cowsert said his posse—made up of officers who are experienced Horsemen arid trackers picked up the trail about half a mile from the spot where Morrow's car ran into a ditch when he died. TUESDAY, MARCH 14. 1950 Portsmouth Ohio

Texas Ranger Claims Sheriff Killer Is Using Assumed Name Odessa, March 22. West Texas Ranger John Wood today said he aims to prove that Juan Corrasco and not Juan Villalobos is the real name of the admitted slayer of Presidlo County Sheriff O. W. (Blacklie) Morrow. Wood, who is going to Carlsbad, N. M. to check there, also says he;ll prove the man is an American citizen, born at Saragos, Tex., Nov. 28, 1920.
Held In Mexlco
Villaobos in the tiny, one cell Jail of Ojinga . Mexico, just across the border from Presidio. He has been held there since his capture a week ago lastThursday. An extensive man-hunt through the rugged mountalns on both sides of the border flushed Villalobo In Mexico, 70 miles from Presidio, five days after Morrow was slain.
Deputy Sheriff Mark Tarwater said Villalobos had admitted shooting the sheriff on a lonely mountain road near Presidio with Morrow's own pistol. Morrow had stopped him to check on his citizenship. Wood said he based his conviction that Villalobos was really Juan Corrasco a native of Texas, on Information at Midland, where he said the man registered for the draft In 1948 under tho name of Juan Corrasco.
Identified In Midland
He and 11 Latin Americans living at Midland also have identified the man as one who worked at a cafe In that city In 1948, later moving to Roswell, N, M, They all said they knew the man by the name of Juan Corrasco, the ranger said, Wood said another Latin American woman at Midland had told him she was raised with Juan Corrasco at Carlsbacl and that he and Juan Vlllalobos are the same person. Wood planned to check with persons now living In Carlsbad on the man's Identity. Offlclals have said If Vlllalobos is proved an American citizen, it would probably make easier attempts to extradite him from Mexico. Steps to extradite him already have been taken. 3/23/1950 Avalanche Journal

EL PASO, April 20. (D — The attorney for Jose Villalobos, charged with murdering a Texas sheriff, said that Villalobos probably will be transferred to the Chihuahua City, Mex,, jail. The attorney, Javier Alvarez, said last night that Villalobos case had been transferred to the first federal district court in Chihuahua City. Villalobos hat been held in the jail at Ojinaga. Mexico across the Rio Grande from Presidio Tex., since he was arrested four days after 0. W. Morrow, Presidio County sheriff, was shot and killed. Big Spring Herald April 20, 1950

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