Who Killed Sarah Mumford?

In 1899, a scandal shook the small town of Pendleton, New York. On June 8, neighbors heard knocks on their doors and responded to a plea from the Tripp family to help search for their fifteen-year-old girl. According to Mr. Tripp, Sarah had left the house without her hat and had been missing for more than an hour. Neighbors helped search the woods and fields. When they had not found her by 1:00 am, Mr. Tripp rode into Lockport and reported her missing to the police.

The next morning, a farmhand discovered her mangled body on the train tracks. According to the railway agent, if she had been standing, she would have been thrown from the track. He concluded that Sarah must have laid across the track, an act of suicide. As days passed, rumors emerged that Sarah had been pregnant. A scandalous condition that might have been a motive for suicide. The rumors intensified when the medical examiner revealed that Sarah was dead before the train hit her.