Today’s Concerned Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Twenty-two year old William Ramirez of Gardena hiked up the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park with his brother John on July 11, 1971. Hot and sweaty from the hike in the summer heat, William climbed over the guardrail to take a dip in the cool waters of the Merced River. John wisely stayed on shore and expressed his concern to his brother about the wisdom of swimming in the water despite all the signs warning against it. [What a square! – DeSpair] William ignored his brother and continued to swim 175 feet upstream of the rim. [What a rebel! – DeSpair] The current snatched him and pulled him downstream. Witnesses said that Ramirez appeared to be in shock and made no effort to struggle out of the death ride. John ran into the river to save his brother but realized that he too would be dragged over the falls and got out. William Ramirez was found by hikers ten days later.
It’s really best to stay behind the rails… if you want to live.
Culled from: Death In California: The Bizarre, Freakish, and Just Curious Ways People Die in the Golden State
Ghastly!
Murdered Car Dealer
1948
The battered body of 32-year-old car dealer Eugene F. Irwin of Dorchester, Massachusetts was found on March 29, 1948 in an area near Echo Lake, a well-known dumping ground for stolen cars. Irwin, carrying about $10,000 in cash, disappeared on the night of December 4, 1947. His body was bound in a blanket with electric cord and rope. The father of the victim, Eugene P. Irwin Sr., third from the left, is shown leaning over the body to identify his son. Police and detectives stand about the scene.
Culled from: Deadly Intent: Crime and Punishment Photographs from the Burns Archive
It was most surely not the first time William had ignored his brother’s sensible warnings.