Historically, father's down through the ages have always been protective of their daughters, especially in the male companions they interact with. I have no idea what the future customs may be, but I suspect this is one might stay around for a bit longer. Well, during the last century there was an episode of a similar nature that resulted in a massive manhunt here in the South!
On July 13, 1926, a worried auto mechanic by the name of Cary Franklin Benton (1884-1950) along with his wife Minnie Viola Barnett (1893-1972) contacted the Pensacola Police Department concerning their missing 16-year old daughter and her same age friend. Two Pensacola boys had picked up his daughter Miss Annie Mae Benton (Milton) and her friend Miss Callie May Rollo (Bagdad) in a roadster on Saturday July 11th to go dancing. He stated his daughter is very "fond of dancing" and both girls had "bobbed hair and light blue dresses." But, by late Monday evening, neither girl had returned home. Benton was told they had been seen with the two boys on July 14th in Bay Minnette supposedly heading back to Pensacola. BOLO's were sent to all law enforcement agencies in an effort to locate them! On July 19th, word was received from Thomas Henry Lemp (1882-1962) of Pensacola (formerly from Bagdad) that the girls had come to his house at 616 East Gadsden Street on Sunday, but left and spent the night at the Half-Way House. They returned later and asked the Lemp's to drive them home because the boys had said no. Lemp asked the boys to escort them to Milton and they agreed. They returned later saying the girls had refused to get in the car and had left on their own. The parents began to panic and called in the FBI for assistance.
One of the questions for the FBI was the possibility of a "Mann Act violation." This act, also called the White Slave Act, was enacted in 1910 and made it a felony to engage in interstate transportation of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." However, the ambiguous wording about "immorality," gave prosecutors the power to use it to criminalize a wide variety of situations. When informed of this, the parents of both girls stated emphatically they wanted the boys brought to justice and prosecuted and if taken to Alabama they wanted the Mann Act enforced!
Soon, the story was being printed in every newspaper across the southern United States and law enforcement was sending descriptions of the girls to every state agency. Then on July 23rd, a Milton man named McGill phoned the Pensacola Police Department and told them the girls had been in Mobile and were now in Tallahassee. The Pensacola Police chief contacted the Leon County sheriff and asked him to find and hold them. Before long, Annie and Callie were returned to Milton and turned over to the custody of their parents. However, no known charges were ever brought against any of them.
Shortly after this escapade Cary Franklin Benton moved his family to Pensacola and would retire there as an automobile mechanic. He would die unexpectedly at his home at 319 North Davis Street, Pensacola in 1950 and was buried in the Clopton Cemetery. His wife Minnie Viola Barnett would follow him in 1972. As for Miss Annie Mae (1909-1983), she would marry Francis William Rocheblave (1911-2004) on April 14, 1939 in Pensacola. She would pass away on September 9, 1983 and was buried in Bayview Cemetery.
Her partner is this joyriding incident was Callie Mae Rollo (1910-1932), the daughter of Captain Henry Jackson Rollo (1875-1934), a steamboat man from Bagdad, and his wife Blanche "Blanchie" Elizabeth Buzbee (1876-1948). Callie would marry Captain Kenneth Lindsey on December 11, 1929 and shortly afterwards was living at 618 East Salamanca Street in Pensacola. Sadly, on June 5, 1932 Callie died in the Pensacola Hospital at the age of 22-years old with services held from her home at 517 East Government Street. She was buried in the Lewis William Cemetery with the flags along the waterfront displayed at half mast out of respect for her and her husband who was employed at the Hyer Launch Company.
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