{"product_id":"the-deadmans-switch-the-1973-kenora-bank-robbery-bombing-9781997962397","title":"The Deadman's Switch: The 1973 Kenora Bank Robbery Bombing","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): R. Bodinne\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: R Bodinne\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: R Bodinne\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Historical\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn May 10, 1973, the town of Kenora, Ontario changed in a single violent second. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA man calling himself Paul Higgins walked into the CIBC bank on Main Street South armed with guns, dynamite and a dead man's switch clenched in his teeth. He demanded money. He demanded a truck. He demanded a driver. What began as a bank robbery became one of the strangest and most disturbing true crime cases in Canadian history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy 4:12 p.m., the robber was dead, the bank was damaged, Main Street was covered in shattered glass and scattered money and Constable Don Milliard had somehow survived being thrown by the blast. Sgt. Robert Letain had fired the shot that stopped the bomber. The switch released. The explosion tore through the street. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe crime was over. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe mystery was not. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMore than fifty years later, the man behind the mask still has no confirmed name. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Deadman's Switch tells the story of the 1973 Kenora CIBC bank robbery bombing, a shocking Canadian true crime case involving a masked robber, stolen bank money, a hostage-driver, a police sniper, a public explosion and an unidentified dead man who entered history under what appears to have been a false name. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book follows the case from the Kenricia Hotel to the bank manager's office, from the switch in the bomber's teeth to the crowd gathered on Main Street, from the blast itself to the long investigation that followed. It examines the false identity of \"Paul Higgins,\" the trip to Winnipeg, the mysterious trunk, the scattered money, the fingerprints circulated far beyond Kenora, the preserved red hair found decades later and the failed lead that once pointed investigators toward a man in France. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWas the Kenora bank bomber simply a robber with a bad plan? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWas he suicidal? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWas the whole thing a public performance designed to make sure the town would never forget him? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOr was he something messier, uglier and more human than any single theory can explain? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten in a blunt, atmospheric true crime style, The Deadman's Switch is not a polished courtroom story with a neat ending. There was no trial. No confession. No final interview. No family member stepping forward to claim the body. The robber died in the street and left investigators with a false name, a damaged body, hotel records, fingerprints, hair evidence and a question that has refused to die. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWho was Paul Higgins, really? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book is for readers interested in Canadian true crime, unsolved mysteries, historic bank robberies, unidentified persons cases, cold case investigations, Ontario crime history and strange real-life crimes that still feel almost impossible to believe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInside this book, you will find: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA detailed narrative of the 1973 CIBC bank robbery bombing in Kenora, Ontario \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe story of the masked robber and the dead man's switch held in his teeth \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe role of bank manager Al Reid, Constable Don Milliard and Sgt. Robert Letain \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe crowd of spectators who gathered too close to danger \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe explosion on Main Street South and the aftermath of scattered money, broken glass and injured bystanders \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe mystery of the false name Paul Higgins \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe hotel trail, the trunk, the Winnipeg trip and the unanswered escape-plan questions \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe fingerprint search, the preserved red hair and the modern DNA possibilities \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe question of whether this was robbery, suicide or performance \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Deadman's Switch is a true crime account of a small-town Canadian bank robbery that became something much darker. It is the story of a town that kept the memory, a police file that would not close properly and a dead man who managed to make himself unforgettable while keeping his real name hidden. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA robber. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA bomber. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA false identity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA switch in his teeth. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd a question still waiting for an answer.","brand":"R Bodinne","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47892830486679,"sku":"9781997962397","price":1973.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781997962397.webp?v=1781189274","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-deadmans-switch-the-1973-kenora-bank-robbery-bombing-9781997962397","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}