Harry Tracy was a convict whose escape from the Oregon State Penitentiary at Salem on June 9, 1902, ended with the deaths of three guards. Further killings in Washington over the following weeks were attributed to him. He was never tried for any of them, and no court made a finding against him for the events of 1902. He died by suicide on August 6, 1902, in Lincoln County, Washington.
Before the escape Tracy had been sentenced in Portland to 20 years for assault and robbery, a term lengthened by an attempted escape. He was held at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem with another prisoner, David Merrill.
On June 9, 1902, the two men got out of the penitentiary at Salem. Three guards were killed during the breakout. The deaths are attributed to the two escaped men, and neither was ever brought before a court for them. A pursuit followed across Oregon and into Washington.
His fellow escapee did not remain at large for long. He died in Washington in late June 1902, and his death was attributed to Tracy. As with the guards, no trial followed.
Tracy continued alone through western Washington. Further killings there were attributed to him, and none was tested in court. By early August he was in Lincoln County, in the eastern part of the state, near the town of Creston.
Tracy died by suicide on August 6, 1902, in Lincoln County, Washington. He had been at large for about two months.
None of the killings of 1902 resulted in a charge, trial or verdict, so each remains an attribution, including the death of his companion in June 1902.
June 9, 1902: Escape from the Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem; three guards killed.
Late June 1902: Death of his escape companion in Washington; attributed to Tracy.
August 6, 1902: Died by suicide in Lincoln County, Washington.