On the same day as the formation of the Anglo-French hunter groups, Admiral Graf Spee captured the steamer Newton Beech. Two days later, she encountered and sank the merchant ship Ashlea. On 8 October, the following day, she sank Newton Beech,[20] which Langsdorff had been using to house prisoners.[21] Newton Beech was too slow to keep up with Admiral Graf Spee, and so the prisoners were transferred to the cruiser.