The Most Infamous Unsolved Bank Robbery in the U.S.



Whether they were tunneling into vaults or blowing their way into them through church walls, brazen thieves are responsible for a string of unsolved bank robberies over the years. From the train robbery pulled off by Jesse James and his crew in 1873 to the 1990 theft at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, bank robberies have become fodder for Hollywood, with the twists and turns of the saga usually concluding in a neat and tidy fashion by the time the film cuts to black and the end credits roll. In real life, however, the case isn’t always that straightforward, and some never reach a conclusion at all. The Grand National Bank Robbery in St. Louis, Missouri, is one such case. In May 1930, the bank was in the process of relocating to its new premises, and for a while the vault containing the safety deposit boxes was guarded around the clock by police. After the door of the vault was replaced, however, one employee asked for an end to the police presence. The thieves moved soon after, breaking into the vault and tying up staff on duty that day while they made off with around $1 million (almost $18 million today). The relative of a local gangster was recorded naming a number of people supposedly involved in the heist, but the case was ultimately closed in 1933 with no convictions. No one was ever held accountable for the heist and the bank went under.