conditions. The two said the cries for help came from the bridge near the shore of Alameda, but added they did not hear any shots that night. Local newspapers reported that Holmes and Thurmond had met with psychiatrists and would attempt to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Thurmond claimed he had been "crazy" for more than a year, since his sweetheart married another man, and Holmes planned to repudiate his confession, which his attorney claimed had been "forced from him by third-degree methods", including threats to "turn him over to the mob for lynching if he did not confess". Upon learning of rumors of a possible insanity plea on the part of Thurmond, law enforcement authorities directed two psychiatrists from Agnews State Mental Hospital in Santa Clara to examine the two men to preclude such a defense. Following cursory examinations in their cells at the Santa Clara County Jail, with a mob outside in the jail courtyard, both men were declared sane. Search for the body Police officers from Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties began searching the bay around the bridge, hoping to find Brooke's body. Trace evidence, including stains on the bridge, "blonde hair on a brick" and other markings convinced authorities the confessors had truthfully described the sequence of events, including dumping Brooke. The first physical clues were unearthed on November 18. Two bricks and apparent bloodstains were found at the bridge. The pillowcase used to mask Brooke during the drive to the bridge was discovered, along with his hat, by November 20. The discovery of the hat ended the last hope of the family that Brooke would be found alive. A hook-studded apparatus was used to drag the bay, with no success. A weighted dummy was planned to be dropped from the bridge on November 21 in an attempt to see where it would float. Workers constructing a pier of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge reported seeing a body floating in the water during the night of November 22, prompting a search by Oakland and San Francisco police boats, including the shores of nearby Goat Island. Alex Hart announced a reward on November 24, hoping to "enlist the aid of the public in the search". By that time, the search involved a blimp from Sunnyvale, police boats from Oakland and San Francisco, United States Marines and a hydraulic pump to dredge the mud