This is the third in a series.

As the Jazz Age began, Ellis Parker was already a well-known figure. Sometimes called the Bald Eagle or the Sherlock Holmes of the Pines, the Burlington County detective had already solved dozens of murder cases.

Married to a Manahawkin girl, he had strong ties to the Jersey Shore. His biographer John Reisinger explained, “Financially, he was doing just fine. In 1922 his $2,500 annual salary was raised to $3,500, and he began buying properties at auction as an investment.