Explosion on Main Street: Who was the Mysterious 1973 Kenora Bank Robber?
On May 10, 1973, an unidentified man was blown to pieces while attempting to rob a bank in Kenora, Ontario. More than 50 years later, the man's true identity remains a mystery
Background
On a quiet spring afternoon in Kenora, Ontario, a masked man walked into a bank carrying two guns, several empty bags, and a homemade bomb wired to a dead man's switch. The events that followed became one of the strangest and most mysterious crimes in Canadian history.
More than fifty years later, the questions remain. Who was the man behind the mask? Where did he come from? And how is his identity still unknown?
Robbery
On the afternoon of May 10, 1973, the peaceful town of Kenora, Ontario, became the setting for a completely unexpected and bizarre crime. The target was the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Main Street1.
Just after 3 p.m., an unidentified man entered the bank. He wore a black balaclava and carried a rifle, a pistol, and a bomb built from six sticks of dynamite strapped to his body, and held a dead man's switch clenched in his teeth2.
If he let go, the bomb would go off.
Unlike most bank robbers, who rely on surprise, speed, and a fast escape, this man had come prepared for a siege. He brought a shoulder bag and three duffel bags for the money, and enough firepower to turn a robbery into a hostage crisis.
The mysterious man wasted no time. He walked into the bank manager's office and demanded money. Surprisingly, the robber also demanded that the manager call the police and tell them about the holdup. He threatened to detonate the dynamite unless police brought him a truck and a driver for his escape.
Police agreed to the demand. Constable Don Milliard bravely volunteered to pose as the getaway driver, walking beside an armed and unpredictable man tethered to a homemade bomb. It was an extraordinary thing to volunteer for.
With a live bomb in play, every movement carried the risk of catastrophe. Bank employees, police, and bystanders were caught in a situation where one wrong decision could kill everyone inside.
When broadcasters at radio station CJRL, which was across the street from the bank, became aware of what was happening, they announced it over the air and warned people to stay away3. However, this had the opposite effect, causing many curious onlookers to descend on the area.
Outside, hundreds of people had gathered on Main Street. Among them was Joe Ralko, who had turned onto the street on his way home from school and felt as though he had stepped into a movie4. But this was no movie; it was a real robbery, with real weapons, real explosives, and a crowd standing far too close.
Explosion on Main Street
As the robber and Constable Milliard moved outside toward the truck, carrying the bags of cash, the standoff reached its grisly conclusion. A police sniper fired, striking the robber and detonating the dynamite5.
The blast killed the robber instantly, while Milliard, who was carrying a heavy duffel bag stuffed with money and partly shielded by it, was injured in the explosion but survived. Approximately $100,000 in cash rained down on Main Street. Nearly all of it was later recovered.
In addition to injuring Constable Milliard and several bystanders, the explosion blew the robber’s body apart, making a physical identification of him all but impossible.
Who Was He?
In the aftermath of the robbery attempt, the focus shifted to identifying the man behind it. In the weeks before the robbery, the man had been living in Kenora under the name "Paul Higgins." Investigators would conclude this was a false name. He checked into the Kenricia Hotel on April 23, 1973, using the Higgins name and a false Toronto address.
Two days later, he apparently took a bus to Winnipeg, leaving behind a steamer trunk marked "P. Higgins." He returned and checked back into the hotel on May 56. In his room, investigators found the remains of several cigar brands and their packages. His wallet held a pair of handcuff keys, $176 in cash, and a receipt from the Kenricia Hotel7. These handful of clues were all that investigators had to go on.
Nineteen-year-old Joe Ralko, a local student who would later write a book about the case, had seen the man in town in the days before the robbery. He recalled the man as being in his 40s, with brown hair and a reddish beard.
For those involved, the questions lingered. Who was the man calling himself Paul Higgins, and why had he come to Kenora with a bomb? The few clues left behind all led to dead ends.
One early suspect was eventually ruled out when DNA from the man's brother failed to match DNA evidence recovered from the scene. That suspect later turned out to be alive and living in France.
To this day, the man’s identity remains a mystery. His remains were buried in an unmarked grave in Kenora.
The Mystery Continues
Over the years, the Kenora bank robbery has become a fascinating piece of Canadian true-crime history. CTV's W5 profiled the case twice — first in 1983, then again in 2023 — proving that interest in the case has remained steady throughout the decades8.
Joe Ralko, who witnessed the aftermath as a teenager, turned the event into a book: The Devil's Gap: The Untold Story of Canada's First Suicide Bomber, published in 20179. He described the robbery as something that stayed with him for decades, partly for how shocking it was, and partly because its central question was never answered10.
More than 50 years later, the case continues to draw interest because of its unresolved nature. The robber’s identity as well as any other secrets he may have had were buried with him in an unmarked grave in Kenora.
Reg Clayton, "Forty Years After, the Identity of the Kenora Bomber Remains a Mystery," Kenora Miner and News, May 10, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20230517220232/https://www.kenoraminerandnews.com/2013/05/10/forty-years-after-the-identity-of-the-kenora-bomber-remains-a-mystery
“Bandit Blown to Bits.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 May 1973, p. 2-A. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-bandit-blown-t/139956525/
Chris Paulson and John Berry, "CJRL Covers the Kenora Bank Robbery, 10 May 1973," Acadia Broadcasting Limited.
Joe Ralko, The Devil's Gap: The Untold Story of Canada's First Suicide Bomber (2017). https://books.google.com/books?id=dn9AswEACAAJ
"40-Year-Old Kenora Bomber Remains a Mystery," CKDR.net, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20190516174405/http://www.ckdr.net/news/567358697/40-year-old-kenora-bomber-remains-mystery
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, "Unidentified Male — Case 2016065871," NCMPUR, August 13, 2012. https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/missing-disparus/case-dossier.jsf?case=2016065871&id=10
The Doe Network, "Case File 4182UMON: Unidentified Male." https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=4182umon
CTV News, "Who Was the Kenora Bomber? W5 Digs Up Clues That Could Reveal His Identity," 2023. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/who-was-the-kenora-bomber-w5-digs-up-clues-that-could-reveal-his-identity/
"Dramatic Chapter in Kenora, Ont., History Subject of New Book," CBC News, July 16, 2017. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/kenora-robbery-devil-s-gap-1.4204934
“Former Kenora Resident Releases Book About Suicide Bank Robber.” TBnewswatch, 2017, https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/former-kenora-resident-releases-book-about-suicide-bank-robber-684779
I’ve always been intrigued by this story. You mention something a bit strange, particularly the mention of DNA from “the man’s brother”. Which man, ‘Paul Higgins’? If this is an alias, how could a brother be located? And to what degree did the investigation follow up with the con stable who volunteered to be the getaway driver?
Fascinating piece! I’ve never heard of this incident before thank you for sharing