The Mystery of Room 1046
How did an Alabama teen wind up dead in a Kansas City hotel room?
by: E.B. Johnson
On On the morning of January 4th, 1935, new switchboard operator Della Ferguson arrived at the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri, just in time for her shift. Shortly after arriving (as she began to make her rounds through the plethora of wake-up calls) she noticed that the indicator light was on for room 1046. The phone was off the hook.
She called down to the main desk where Randolph Propst — a bellhop — pulled the assignment to go up to the room. Propst knew the room and knew the guest inside too. He had taken the young man up 2 days previously and remembered his face and the lack of unpacking he had done.
When Propst arrived, there was a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. Knowing his orders, he gave it several loud knocks anyway, after which he was told to enter. When he tried to enter room 1046, however, he found the door was locked from the inside.
“Come in,” the voice said again.
But Propst could not get the door open. He shouted through the door, believing the guest was just drunk, and told him to hang up the phone. Considering his job done, Propst made his way back downstairs — completely unaware of the horror that was about to unfold.
