Everyone loves a good “whodunit”, but how about a “who is it” mystery? In 1904, the good folks of Constance were pondering that very question.
In those early days, the Ohio River was a busy corridor for travel, and accidents occurred as often as on our modern roadways. On the highway, accident scenes are stationary, while on the river, the current can carry its victims quietly away, sometimes unnoticed.
Rivers are rough in some spots, calmer in others and in some areas the current flows toward the bank and deposits whatever it carries. The riverfront at Constance is such a place, where floating debris often washes up, including unfortunate victims of drownings, riverboat accidents or foul play.
This occurred frequently enough that the Boone County Coroner was a regular caller, so it was probably no surprise when he was summoned in 1904. As was often the case with these unwelcome “visitors,” the body that had floated ashore was a stranger and could not be identified. The condition of the body did not seem suspicious and no cause of death was determined. Additionally, no claims of a missing loved one were submitted, so the body was buried in a plain box near the river, as was customary at the time.
Two years later, the coroner received a pair of secretive visitors from afar who were searching for a missing loved one. Aware of the discovery of a body in 1904, the visitors suspected it might be a family member, yet refused to identify themselves by name. What was disclosed, however, was that the search concerned a brother who belonged to European nobility. The last information shared indicated he had boarded a boat in Cincinnati two years earlier. Fears of foul play lingered, as the man had been traveling with a large sum of money and other valuables.
The coroner agreed to exhume the body. Upon examination of the remains, the men identified several gold fillings in the teeth and were convinced. It was indeed their brother, who carried the title of “Graf” which is the German equivalent of “Count.” The nameless German Count of Constance was transferred to an expensive metal casket and taken away, leaving only an empty riverbank grave and a mystery.
