When nothing was heard from Lenz throughout the summer , his family started to worry that something might have happened . The Ottoman Empire was at this time going through a period of turmoil , the ongoing Hamidian Massacres were killing tens of thousands of Armenians . It was difficult to ascertain what might have happened , but Alexander Terrell , the U.S. minister to Turkey , felt sure that Lenz had been killed by Kurdish bandits
Hamidian Massacres
Hamidian massacres
Frank Lenz (cyclist)