Do you like bank heists? Dramatic stick-ups? Grisly campsite murders? This one’s for you.
Criminals in search of money, but separated by decades clear out vaults, rob gas stations and attack a camper.
100 years ago
June 28, 1924
• Bank robbers made off with almost $2,000 from the town of Vanduser yesterday evening in a well-coordinated heist.
Scott County authorities are hunting for a trio of masked suspects, all in their early 20s, who locked two Bank of Vanduser employees in the building’s vault and cleared out with $1,825. Their getaway car was recovered northwest of Sikeston, where witnesses saw them switch to a waiting Ford coupe last night. The ditched vehicle had an Ohio license plates and was likely stolen.
Authorities believe the men planned the heist around the bank’s cash delivery schedule. The bandits missed an additional $500 by chance — a shipment of cash for payrolls arrived at the Vanduser post office yesterday, but wasn’t picked up before the robbery.
This isn’t the first disaster to befall the Bank of Vanduser. It was destroyed by arson several years ago in an attempt to cover up the theft of financial records. A cashier was arrested but later acquitted.
75 years ago
June 28, 1949
• Robbers got an early start today — two Southeast Missouri businesses were held up before the sun rose.
Around 3 a.m., the Riverside service station west in Dunklin County was robbed by two men who locked the station attendant in the bathroom, cut the building’s telephone wires and took $300. Kennett police arrested two armed men matching the suspects’ descriptions later in the morning.
At 4:30 a.m., a man stole about $30 from a Poplar Bluff restaurant. Mrs. Mel Leatherman reported she was mopping the floor at the Winfrey Cafe when a man walked in and ordered, “Just keep on mopping — I don’t want to hurt you.”
He emptied the cash register, kicked over the mop bucket to wash out his shoe prints, and left through the back door. Police are seeking a car seen outside the cafe before the robbery.
50 years ago
June 28, 1974
• Missing persons cases in two state parks have evolved: one was ruled an accidental drowning, and the other is now a murder investigation.
At Lake Wappapello, the body of missing fisherman Charles Miner was recovered. The 36-year-old St. Louis resident was presumed drowned after his boat was found unmanned and running in circles on June 26. His body was recovered floating near the Rockwood Point Marina at 11:15 a.m. today.
Another body was discovered in Mark Twain National Forest yesterday: Riley Hasting, 59, of Steele was found dead of multiple shotgun wounds to the back and blunt force head trauma. His campsite neighbors Pogey and Valerie Schmidt of St. Louis, ages 23 and 19, are wanted for first-degree murder.
Hasting’s wife reported him missing on June 24 when he failed to come home after a week-long camping trip. His campsite at Buffalo Creek was found empty except for a water cooler and spent shotgun shells, possibly from his 16-gauge. There was no sign of him or the Schmidts, who were last seen driving his truck. The Ripley County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and forest service searched for all three by air and ground.
At 12:30 p.m. yesterday, a forest service employee discovered some of Hasting’s camping equipment by a gravel road in the Gatewood area, 13 miles from Buffalo Creek. He and a state trooper followed a dragging trail through the brush to Hasting’s body. More shotgun shells were also found. The Schmidts reportedly camped at Gatewood before moving to Buffalo Creek two weeks ago.
The Ripley County Sheriff stated Hasting was likely killed for his belongings. The Schmidts had no vehicle and little cash, but witnesses saw them leave the campground in Hastings’ truck in the early morning hours of June 23 and later present a $100 bill at an area store. Hasting had between $200-$300 on him when he left home.
Hasting was last seen alive by a member of the forest service at Buffalo Creek, talking to Pogey Schmidt.