The Ballarat Bandit, A Bizarre True Tale

A bizarre true tale set in Death Valley. His story was on truTV. Just wanted to share this read about him. Go to the source to enjoy the entirety.

The Ballarat Bandit stole what he needed to survive, then struck out for hideouts in the barren desert.

They tracked him on foot, on horseback, using all terrain vehicles, four-wheel drives, and even airplanes, calling in extra manpower and coordinating efforts between a number of federal, state, and local agencies interested in the capture. They looked for him by day and by night using infrared vision equipment. In Nye County law enforcement officers doubled and tripled their forces, spending sixteen hours a day in the field - and the mission wreaked havoc on Sheriff Tony DeMeo's overtime budget. They spoke of the frustration created by the elusive Bandit and quietly marveled at his seemingly superhuman endurance.

But they couldn't catch the mystery thief who could run five miles straight uphill into the setting sun and cross 60 miles of snow-covered high desert on foot. Not until the following year, when the searing heat of a July day in Death Valley drove him to the end of his rope.

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"He died alone deep in the desert where all his fantasies finished off. Somewhere in the killer heat of gold mine country, where those old western novels of cowboys and Indians and the mother lode came from, he looked at a future behind bars or of facing his children and he decided to break on through to the other side. Open that door, pull that trigger, and end the eternal clock that ticked toward Armageddon."

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A tale to be retold around a dark night's campfire, told to all gathered 'round, with the stars overhead an earshot away.