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
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?
Excellent fundamental analysis and questioning of the “unknown bank robber” who tried robbing a sizable bank solo with a duffel bag packed with a “personal arsenal” of multiple firearms ranging from handguns to hunting rifle to the most lethal weapon the robber entered and attempted robbing the bank with, a stack of six dynamite sticks strapped to his chest and connected to a “dead man’s kill switch, held in his mouth” and immediately when his pressured altered in the slightest way became the “detonator”!!
After entering the bank with a mask, bag of guns, the walking bomber/bank robber spent @ 1.5 hours waiting on his demands for a truck capable of carting away the multiple empty plastic bags he had filled with money from inside the bank’s vault!! Dealing with this “ suicidal thief “, an experienced veteran Ontario, Canada law enforcement official volunteered to act as the truck’s getaway driver with the “ Mr. Dynamite” with six sticks of dynamite strapped onto his chest, upon arrival, the gathering crowd growing larger was injured when a officer shot the human bomb and blew up his heart leading to his remains being sent skyward and a solid distance from other pieces of his eradicated remains which were small sized pieces that once his heart stopped the pressure needed to keep the bomb from exploding was lost after having a chest shot destroy his heart setting off the bomb and launching physical pieces of body all over; 6 sticks of dynamite is no joke and actually erased the unknown bank robber and till today he’s still not even close to being to being identified to this day!! He was the fatality while the undercover cop was injured along with “rubber necking” nosy citizens who heard of the robbery from a nearby radio station that heard about it and went live on air warning others to stay out of the bank’s vicinity due to the dynamite!!! Very interesting story about this incident and his unknown identity!!!!
Thank you! I really appreciate the detailed comment and your interest in the case. It’s certainly one of the strangest and most fascinating unsolved robberies.
Thanks for reading closely — you’re right to point that out, and I probably should have worded that section more clearly. The DNA comparison was not from a confirmed brother of “Paul Higgins.” Higgins appears to have been an alias. What I meant was that investigators later followed a separate missing person lead. That missing man had a known brother and DNA from that brother was compared with evidence connected to the Kenora robber. The DNA did not match, so that lead was ruled out.
As for Constable Don Milliard, the accounts I found present him as a surviving officer, witness, and victim of the explosion, not as someone under suspicion. I haven’t found anything suggesting he was implicated, but I agree that his role, and any post-incident follow-up with him, would be an interesting area to explore further.
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?
Excellent fundamental analysis and questioning of the “unknown bank robber” who tried robbing a sizable bank solo with a duffel bag packed with a “personal arsenal” of multiple firearms ranging from handguns to hunting rifle to the most lethal weapon the robber entered and attempted robbing the bank with, a stack of six dynamite sticks strapped to his chest and connected to a “dead man’s kill switch, held in his mouth” and immediately when his pressured altered in the slightest way became the “detonator”!!
After entering the bank with a mask, bag of guns, the walking bomber/bank robber spent @ 1.5 hours waiting on his demands for a truck capable of carting away the multiple empty plastic bags he had filled with money from inside the bank’s vault!! Dealing with this “ suicidal thief “, an experienced veteran Ontario, Canada law enforcement official volunteered to act as the truck’s getaway driver with the “ Mr. Dynamite” with six sticks of dynamite strapped onto his chest, upon arrival, the gathering crowd growing larger was injured when a officer shot the human bomb and blew up his heart leading to his remains being sent skyward and a solid distance from other pieces of his eradicated remains which were small sized pieces that once his heart stopped the pressure needed to keep the bomb from exploding was lost after having a chest shot destroy his heart setting off the bomb and launching physical pieces of body all over; 6 sticks of dynamite is no joke and actually erased the unknown bank robber and till today he’s still not even close to being to being identified to this day!! He was the fatality while the undercover cop was injured along with “rubber necking” nosy citizens who heard of the robbery from a nearby radio station that heard about it and went live on air warning others to stay out of the bank’s vicinity due to the dynamite!!! Very interesting story about this incident and his unknown identity!!!!
Thank you! I really appreciate the detailed comment and your interest in the case. It’s certainly one of the strangest and most fascinating unsolved robberies.
Thanks for reading closely — you’re right to point that out, and I probably should have worded that section more clearly. The DNA comparison was not from a confirmed brother of “Paul Higgins.” Higgins appears to have been an alias. What I meant was that investigators later followed a separate missing person lead. That missing man had a known brother and DNA from that brother was compared with evidence connected to the Kenora robber. The DNA did not match, so that lead was ruled out.
As for Constable Don Milliard, the accounts I found present him as a surviving officer, witness, and victim of the explosion, not as someone under suspicion. I haven’t found anything suggesting he was implicated, but I agree that his role, and any post-incident follow-up with him, would be an interesting area to explore further.
Fascinating piece! I’ve never heard of this incident before thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!