Reidsville, July 3—A human skeleton which later proved to be that of Charlie (“Pike”) Fuqua, was found yesterday afternoon at 3 o’clock.
While gathering blackberries on the Amos place, a couple miles south of Reidsville on the Greensboro road, Pink Purgason, a white youth, came upon the gruesome find. He immediately reported to others and an investigation was begun. Garments found resembled those belonging to Fugua, and a further investigation showed that he had not been seen about town for the past month. Buzzards had devoured all flesh and picked clean the bones.
Later in the afternoon identification was positively made by a shirt belonging to the dead man. Buzzards had dragged the body a distance of 50 yards from where the shirt was found. It had been bundled up into a pillow and probably used by Fuqua on the night of his death.
The immediate cause of Fuqua’s death may never be known. He had a habit of taking long hikes to Greensboro and other places, often being picked up by some passing automobile, and possibly at this time he was returning from Greensboro. The fact that he stopped only a couple of miles from his niece’s home gives rise to the belief that he was either struck by an automobile or became suddenly ill and could proceed no further than a short distance from the road. A local physician said that often Fuqua, while ill, would crawl off into the woods and remain there until able to be up again. For many years he was in wretched health and, apparently, was a victim of tuberculosis.
He was a well known character about the town. He was known by everybody as “Pike.” He was about forty years old.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, July 4, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-07-04/ed-1/seq-1/
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