Looking back: Woman stabs man she’s living with and former Pocatello man missing in Alaska

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Oct. 23 to Oct. 29 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

BLACKFOOT — A man who was “charged with following a couple of girls and insulting them repeatedly” left town, the Blackfoot Idaho Republican reported on Oct. 29, 1915.

The paper explained that the man did not stop insulting the girls until the father of one of the girl’s “came out and interfered with his fists.”

The man went before Police Judge J.E. Good the week prior to the article being published in the newspaper, and he disappeared from town “during the recess of the court.”

“As stated last week, the man’s guilt was shown, and the judge evidently decided to punish him, but instead of doing it, he told him to go on about his business but to come back on Saturday to be sentenced,” the article stated.

It continued, “The fellow was a transient, whom nobody seemed to know, yet he was allowed to go on his own recognizance. The father who protected the girls is trying to figure out what the court is for anyhow.”

1926-1950

POCATELLO — A man was taken to the hospital after a woman who claimed to be living with the man, stabbed him, the Idaho State Journal reported on Oct. 23, 1949.

William Broncho, 40, who was described as a “Fort Hall Indian” had a “severe cut” on his right shoulder. Sylvia Broncho, 31, told police officers the “cutting scrape” was the result of “family trouble.” Although the two share the same last name, the article did not refer to them as husband and wife, but rather as the woman’s “mate.”

Officer James Akers took the woman into custody where she was being held in the city jail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Akers said the woman used a pocket knife, and by the time officers arrived at the scene, the man had lost a considerable amount of blood.

1951-1975

POCATELLO — The wife of a former Pocatello man who’d been missing in Alaska returned to the Gem State with her kids and mother, the Idaho State Journal reported on Oct. 26, 1958.

Her husband, Stan Fredericksen, had been missing since Aug. 21, 1958. He was last seen when he took off in a twin engine plane with two other fish and wildlife service personnel.

“More than 1 million dollars has been spent on the search for Fredericksen and Clarence J. Rhode, FWS chief for Alaska, and Rhode’s son, Jack, a University of Washington freshman,” the Journal said.

Theron Smith, FWS supervisor, was leading a party in two ski-equipped Cessna 180s, “the only planes left in the hunt.” Air Force and Bureau of Land Management planes were withdrawn from the search several weeks prior.

Two Pocatello men who were related to Fredericksen went to Alaska to look for him. Don Fredericksen, the man’s brother, was in Alaska for one month. Edward Dowling, father-in-law, helped with the search for about 40 days.

Mrs. Fredericksen was in Pocatello before the plane disappeared. She then took their five-year-old daughter to Colorado for an exam. She was scheduled to undergo heart surgery in the spring.

“After going to Denver, they returned to Pocatello for three weeks before returning to Fairbanks,” the article mentioned. “They were met at the airport in Fairbanks with the message that Fredericksen was missing.”

It’s not clear when, but at some point, Mrs. Fredericksen ended up coming back to Pocatello with her mom, daughter and 10-year-old son, who was going to start attending school in Pocatello.

Mrs. Don Fredericksen, the missing man’s sister-in-law, said the family has “just about given up hope.”

“There doesn’t seem to be too much of a chance,” she said. “But there is always the possibility they can be walking out. It’s been done before.”

Searchers reported the area is “already into winter,” with the lakes and rivers frozen and “subzero temperatures.”

1976-2000

SODA SPRINGS — Soda Springs, Grace and Bancroft were in need of “ambulance crews,” the Caribou County Sun reported on Oct. 28, 1976.

“There is no pay, no fringe benefits and horrible working hours,” the paper stated. “But there is lots of satisfaction, a chance to help others in need and the potential for saving lives.”

A certified Caribou County EMT training course was going to begin in January.