2nd 1923 front-page article re my grandmother's "kidnap"

Hattiesburg American, December 29, 1923

RUNAWAY BOY AND GIRL REPORTED IN BATON ROUGE, WED
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Pretty 16-Year-Old Ella [Elma] McLemore and J.D. Moore Missing From Hattiesburg Since Sunday Night, Said to Have Been in Louisiana Capital -- Brothers of Elopers Rush to Investigate -- Warrant for Lad's Arrest On Kidnapping Charge, Still Held by Forrest Officials
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MARRIAGE MAY BE ANNULLED BY FATHER, GIRL UNDER AGE
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The parents of Miss [Elma] McLemore, pretty 16-year-old bobbed-haired blond, who disappeared so mysteriously from in front of the Methodist Hospital in this city last Sunday night, this afternoon are awaiting confirmation of the reports coming from Baton Rouge, La, earlier in the day, that the girl had become the wife of J.D. Moore, with whom she is alleged to have eloped.

Reports from the Louisiana capital state that the youthful pair were married on Christmas Day.

A married sister of Miss McLemore, resident in Baton Rouge, has not yet been heard from.

Walter Moore, elder brother of J.D. Moore, whom W.S. McLemore has charged with kidnaping, and a brother of the girl, left for Baton Rouge last night to investigate the reports coming from there that the couple had been seen earlier in the week.

Neither Mr. McLemore nor Sheriff Edmonson, who has a warrant sworn out against Moore, has heard from Baton Rouge officially during the day.

The disappearance of the youthful pair has created great excitement throughout South Mississippi, and in certain sections of three other states. Charging young Moore with forcibly carrying away his 16-year-old daughter against her will, Mr. McLemore set in motion the wheels of the departments of justice of four states, with a view of apprehending the couple, returning his daughter to her home near Eastabuchie, and of prosecuting the lad.

Reported in Baton Rouge

The following dispatches came over the Associated Press wires to The Hattiesburg American this afternoon.

Baton Rouge, La, Dec. 29 -- J.D. Moore, of Hattiesburg, and Miss [Elma] McLemore, are here and are married, according to the police. An investigation is being made.

While officials of four states were searching for J.D. Moore, 18, and Miss [Elma] McLemore, 16, of Petal, Miss., who mysteriously disappeared from their home Sunday, the pair slipped quietly into Baton Rouge, stayed a day or two with a married sister of the girl, and, according to the police, left last night for Hammond.

Meanwhile the father of the girl has sworn out a warrant for the arrest of young Moore on a charge of abduction. It is said that the young couple were married before reaching Baton Rouge.

Today information was received that two brothers of the girl had left for Baton Rouge. The sheriff and police of Baton Rouge were notified, as the exact intentions of the brothers were not announced.
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Miss McLemore, a mere child, light complexioned, light bobbed hair, wore a gray suit and a blue sweater when her mother and sister saw her for the last time in an automobile in front of the hospital in this city. As described in The American yesterday, the mother and a sister had entered the hospital to visit a patient, when the sister returned to the waiting automobile, to find Miss [Elma] McLemore in tears. She refused to be comforted, and a young Moore declined to give the reason for his companion's crying. The sister returned to the hospital to make a report to the mother, and when the pair returned, the automobile had disappeared.

Leaving no trace, the disappearance caused worry to the girl's parents, and the following day a warrant was sworn out at the sheriff's office, at the request of Mr. McLemore. The authorities of four states were asked to engage in the hunt.

That a kidnaping had occurred was doubted by close friends of Miss McLemore and of Moore. Both had been companions for some time, and, it is said, had planned marriage. Because of the girl's youthful age, however, the parents would not consent to this, and instructions were given the marriage license clerk at the Forrest county court house to refuse to issue a license to the pair, should they apply.

If the marriage ceremony was performed either in Mississippi or Louisiana, it is likely that it will be annulled by the courts, as Miss McLemore is still two years under the legal age whereby a license may be obtained without the parents' or guardian's consent.