Miles R. Ronvough Wrongly Taken into Custody as Chicago Murderer, February 1926

Trailed Through Three Counties by Deputies, Arrested and Then Freed by His Finger Prints!

Today, Miles R. Ronvough, mining engineer, carries with him a letter from the sheriff's office in Los Angeles stating that he is not Martin Durkin, Chicago murderer, who is being sought by police all over the country.

Like Durkin, Miles R. Ronvough is six feet tall, twenty-three years old, wears hornrimmed glasses, drives a car such as Durkin was known to drive.

Ronvough's car was followed through three counties by deputy sheriffs who had been instructed to "shoot first and arrest afterwards." He was finally taken into custody in Los Angeles, where his finger prints proved that he was not Durkin. Realizing the danger of his resemblance to the notorious Durkin, Ronvough demanded that the Los Angeles sheriff's letter contain, not only an apology, but a statement of his true identity.

1. "Traveler Taken into Custody as Martin Durkin, Chicago Murderer", Finger Print and Identification Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 8, February 1926, page 18.