The remains of little Chester Robert Warren were discovered at the bottom of a well on the property of Emerson Valley resident Steven Parker. This finally solves a longstanding town mystery about what happened to the boy, who was a descendant of Emerson Valley Gazette founder Malcolm Warren. The identity of Chester Warren was confirmed by matching his DNA to that of Richard Warren, another descendant of Malcolm Warren who lives in town.

After little Chester went missing in 1919, his father Avery Warren spent many years and much of his family’s fortune searching for his son. Sadly, Avery died destitute in 1932, never knowing what happened to Chester. He was unaware that all this time, his son was less than a mile away from home.

It is believed that Chester was murdered and dumped in the well to hide his body. There was evidence of blunt force trauma on the back of his skull. A layer of concrete was poured on top of the remains to prevent them from being discovered, but a sinkhole on Mr. Parker’s property in 2014 caused cracks to form in the foundation of the well. When he began renovations to install a new one this spring, the workers uncovered Chester’s remains while pulling up the damaged layer of concrete.

While the mystery of where Chester Warren disappeared to has been solved, there is still the question of how he actually ended up at the bottom of a well. The injuries present on his skull could indicate that foul play was involved, which leaves us with the mystery of who was responsible for his death? We may never know, but if a missing child can be found over a century after disappearing, the truth about his fate may yet come to light.

-Quinn Paxton, Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette