At first, the rescue crew thought he had frozen to death, according to Nevadagram. But with a closer look, they realized the mail carrier had been shot through his skull. An investigation found that locals had heard a shot and cries earlier that day. Some remembered seeing two unidentified men on a stage that same day in the area.

The following day, detectives discovered rummaged second-class mail sacks with letters scattered on the ground, along with human tracks and canine paw prints. A hunter recommended using a stray dog to follow the tracks, believing that an animal that already treaded that area might lead the group to something. One dog did, taking them to the first-class mail sacks where the investigation found a clue: a letter with a bloody palm print. Residents pinpointed local ruffian Ben Kuhl as a possible suspect, according to Linn’s Stamp News. The police arrested him. Later, a bloody overcoat, a bandana and shirt were discovered in the river. Someone had weighed them down with stones. Then in Kuhl’s residence a .44-caliber revolver was recovered.

Kuhl claimed he spent the day of the robbery in a local saloon, although no one corroborated the claim. Kuhl’s two poker buddies, Billy McGraw and Edward Beck, also became suspects, with a local gambler claiming that the gun actually belonged to McGraw and that Beck borrowed it for Kuhl, according to the Daily News.