A Book by Grace Barker
Dawn Publishing
The Story of the 1961 Havelock Bank Robbery
In a bold daylight heist on August 31, 1961, armed robbers made off with over $230,000 from the Toronto-Dominion Bank in the eastern Ontario village of Havelock. If not for a bit of bad luck, it would have been the “perfect crime.”
But things started to go wrong. A wild car chase along back roads in the rugged Canadian Shield bush country north of Havelock ended with the bandits fleeing into the woods on foot. After an intensive 96-hour manhunt, The Ontario Provincial Police, aided by local residents, rounded up the five suspects.
Nearly a 1/4 Million Dollars Still Hidden in Ontario Bush?
But where was the money? It had vanished! Not only that, the clever bandits had worn masks and gloves at the bank. Nobody could identify them, and there were no fingerprints. The chances of putting them behind bars seemed slim.
About the Book
In The Bad Luck Bank Robbers, Grace Barker takes us step by step through this audacious robbery and getaway scheme, the massive search that resulted in all five men being captured in the rugged country south of Bancroft, and the subsequent trial at which, unusually, the robbers were convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence.
About the Author
Grace Barker received an Ontario Heritage Foundation award in 1999 for her work in preserving, protecting and promoting the rich heritage of the province. Her book Timber Empire: The Exploits of the Entrepreneurial Boyds, now in its second edition, traces the nineteenth-century adventures of Trent Valley lumber baron Mossom Boyd and his sons. In The Bad Luck Bank Robbers, she brings the reader a detailed account of an intriguing drama that had never been told. Due to Grace’s passing in 2016, there will be a void in true historical stories written about small towns in Ontario. This book will keep her research and the famous Ontario bank robbery alive for future generations to ponder and enjoy.
The stolen money was never found and never entered circulation. Where is it? Maybe in this book you’ll find a clue that everyone else overlooked!
Click Here to Read the Introduction (from the book)
The bank robbery sparked what was then the biggest manhunt ever undertaken in Ontario to that point: some 75 OPP officers in 26 cruisers hunted for clues and the robbers. They were joined by numerous local citizens familiar with the area. Some acted as guides for the hunt because of their first-hand knowledge of the terrain. Many of the officers worked as many as 36 hours without a break. The police officers were thankful to the local people who offered them food. One little girl brought them some ice-cold water to drink. They were doubly appreciative when they learned that the water had come from a spring half a mile away. It was an endurance test but the police never let up on their search, and they did get their men.
The area of the crime, the getaway and the lost money.
Five men were tracked down as suspects. But they had to be proven guilty. That was a long story in itself. What about the money? It still has not been found. The Mint has kept watch and says that the bills and securities all had numbers that had been recorded, and that to this day they have never been circulated. The canvas bag containing the loot must still be out there hidden under a pile of rocks. This is a country that has been yielding up wealth in the form of mineral deposits for more than a hundred years. Out there somewhere is a khaki canvas bag containing deposits of a different kind. They are the bank deposits that were stolen from the Toronto-Dominion Bank in Havelock on that late August morning 45 years ago. Will the bills and securities all have disintegrated and turned to dust by now?
This story was too engrossing to be left untold.
Residents living in the search area kept their shotguns handy. Here, Mary (Mrs. Hiram) Reid, with gun and Carol Hoard keep a lookout. Mary Reid saw the robbers driving on The Ridge Road on the day of the robbery and pointed their car out to Constable Chapman. (courtesy Peterborough Examiner)
Buy the Physical Book
Send Interact e-Transfer for $25.00 + $6.00 shipping and handling in Canada ($25 + $12 shipping and handling for deliveries in USA)
Tell us if you want more printed copies by contacting Dawn Publishing at 1961robberbook@gmail.com
Soft cover, 5.5″ x 8.5″
144 pages
42 b&w photos, maps
ISBN 0-9696298-2-6
Published by Dawn Publishing
Buy the ePUB Edition of the Book
Send Interact e-Transfer for $9.00 to Dawn Publishing at 1961robberbook@gmail.com
Please include your email address so we can send a download link for the ePUB edition to you.
Digital Version
ePUB Format
42 b&w photos, maps
ISBN 0-9696298-2-6
Published by Dawn Publishing