Closing Notes.....
- the Mecums had at least one more escape in them.
According to one account: "...due to their unruly
manner at the local penitentiary the Mecum brothers were
transferred to the Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario where
they managed another daring escape by knocking out their
guards and the hospital surgeon, stealing their clothes
and walking right out of the prison under the watchful
eye of the warden. They were eventually caught and
sentenced to another 19 years."
- considering the lengthy sentences handed out in Canadian
courts to the Mecums, and their ongoing lawlessness while
confined, the Mecums only stayed in the Canadian system
until 1917 or thereabouts, when Jones County, Iowa
authorities took custody of them at the US - Canada
border at Windsor, Ontario (Detroit).
- once returned to Jones County, Charles Mecum was
sentenced to an additional 5 years for Escape and 1 year
for Causing Great Bodily Injury stemming from the
shooting of Officer Hamaker.
- Bert Mecum was sentenced to 10 years for Assisting a
Prisoner To Escape. Both were admitted to the Anamosa
Reformatory in October 1917. Charles appears to have
discharged from Anamosa 4/1/20. Bert transferred to the
Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison in September
1921.
- Charles Mecum's prison days were over. He settled down,
raised a family, was a school janitor in his later years,
and died in 1961 in Kansas City, KS.
- Bert Mecum's fate remains unknown. He lived in the Twin
Cities after his release from prison, but then
disappeared.
- Constable Traynor, the Winnipeg officer mainly
responsible for the Mecums' apprehension, was awarded the
first King's Police Medal for bravery. He died of typhoid
fever in 1913, three weeks before the medal was to be
presented. It was given to his wife posthumously.
- Allan Hamaker, the Anamosa guard shot during the intial
escape, survived and returned to work in time to be
including in a group
photo of the prison staff. He left the Reformatory in
1913.
- the Winnipeg police force has been armed ever since the
Mecum incident.
- the Winnipeg
Police Service has an interesting homepage, including
old stories from their archives.