William "Willie" Henry Grimes

On the 15th of this month two of the Grimes boys and T. L. Thompson's boy went out antelope hunting north of here and about noon a snow storm set in. The boys were scattered in different directions and one of the Grimes boys and the Thompson boy abandoned their hunt and went home. Willie Grimes has not returned home from that day to this, two weeks ago, and it is feared he got lost in the storm and wandered around until exhausted and then lay down and was chilled to death while asleep. The boy is 16 years old and as it was not very cold on that day, it is not thought he would have frozen unless in the manner above described. There has certainly something happened to the boy or he would have returned home. Search has been made but to no avail and it may be that the worst is yet to be heard. Anyone learning of his whereabouts will confer a great favor by notifying his parents of the same.

The Lusk Herald
December 6, 1894

Last week The Herald made mention of the fact that Willie Grimes, who went out hunting on the 15th of last month, north of Lusk, had not returned home and it was feared something serious had happened the boy. Our ideas were confirmed last Saturday with the startling news that the searching party who went out to look for him the day before, had returned with the body cold in death. The boy, finding that he was lost in a snow storm, got on the south side of the hill and carried rocks and piled them up on another big rock that was buried in the ground and dug a hole in the ground with his hands at the base of the large stone and crouched down into the hole and there froze to death. When found he was in a sitting position and his gun standing up against the rock by his side. The boy was thinly clad and had he even kept on walking he would have frozen that night as his apparel became wet from the falling snow. Coroner Louger took charge of the body and on Sunday funeral ervices were held in the Congregational church by Mrs. Nina D. Pettigrew, after which the remains were taken to the Lusk burying grounds and interred. The bereaved family have the sympathy of the entire community in their sad affliction.

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