At the tender age of 17, Eva Evans had already witnessed multiple gunfights, aided and abetted fugitives, and helped her outlaw father break out of jail. Evans was the daughter of Chris Evans, one half of the Californian bandit duo, Evans and Sontag. The outlaws conducted multiple train robberies in Tulare County from 1888 to 1892, hitting railroad towns such as Pixley, Goshen and Collis (now Kerman).

Her life is the focus of Jay O'Connell's book, "Train Robber's Daughter: The Melodramatic Life of Eva Evans, 1876-1970."

"A tale of train robberies, ambushes and shoot-outs with posses, it is also a little-known saga of loyalty and betrayal surrounding a young girl whose devotion to her outlaw father knew no bounds," said William B. Secrest, author of numerous books about California outlaws, including "California Desperadoes."

"O'Connell adds much fresh research to flesh out the story of Eva's life in a biography that is truly a unique and fascinating read."

While Eva became known in the press for her romantic relationship with her father's partner, John Sontag, it was the close relationship between Eva and her father that O'Connell found the most interesting.

"The guiding force of this book is that father-daughter relationship," said the Three Rivers native. "I think it brings humanity to a story that is otherwise a story of criminals."

Eva Evans was fiercely protective of her father to the end, denying his involvement in train robberies. She testified on his behalf in a well-publized trial and served as messenger to her father while he alluded capture in the hills of Fresno and Tulare County.

O'Connell said he became interested in the story of the outlaw family while researching his first book, "Co-operative Dreams: A History of the Kaweah Colony."

One of the first things he found fascinating about Eva was how she portrayed herself in a melodrama that sold out theaters across the country after her father and his partner were arrested.

"I work in the television industry, and have a background in theater, so I've always been attracted to dramatic stories," said O'Connell, who graduated from the College of the Sequoias. "The story of Evans and Sontag is certainly dramatic. But the more I learned about the story, the more fascinated I became with Eva and her part in the saga. I wanted to tell this dramatic story in a way it never had before -- from Eva's point of view."

The author spent between six to 10 years researching and writing the "Train Robber's Daughter" in between working full-time as a television producer in the Los Angeles area.

O'Connell compiled research by searching through newspaper clippings, Eva Evans' memoirs and a collection of her personal letters and photos donated to the Tulare County Museum by her stepdaughter's family.

The book costs $18.95 and is available at bookstores and all the usual online outlets.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2427.

(Feb. 29, 2008)