26. A Freak Fatal Accident
The Colorado Transcript of July 2nd, 1914, described the freak incident: “Miss Grace McHugh of Golden … was drowned in the Arkansas River at Canon City yesterday afternoon, according to a message received from Canon City last night. The accident occurred at 1 o’clock, and up to the time of going to press, her body had not been recovered. Miss McHugh had been the leading lady for the Colorado Motion Picture company, and left Golden about three weeks ago to join the company.
The accident occurred while Miss McHugh and Owen Carter, a cameraman, were engaged in making a scene in a picture entitled ‘Across the Border’. She was fording the stream in a boat, and suddenly the watchers saw the boat capsize and Miss McHugh was plunged into the swollen stream. Carter, without hesitation, plunged into the river, and succeeded in getting Miss McHugh to a sandbar. They appeared to be safe, when suddenly, when suddenly both sank from view, and it is believed they were sucked down by quicksand.” Filming had already been completed by then, so both McHugh’s and Carter’s work was included in the final product released to the public.