Investigators Identify Suspect in Ferdinand Bank Robbery, Home Invasion 25 Years Later

A mother and young child were bound with plastic ties and duct tape in their home on Ferdinand Road Northwest before the sun had fully risen on Sept. 1, 2000. The man who restrained them then stole their vehicle, drove to Holland National Bank in Ferdinand, and robbed it at gunpoint around 9:05 a.m. Twenty-five years later, Indiana State Police say the case is solved.

The morning began with the child outside near her mother's vehicle when a masked man approached her carrying a gun and a bag. He took the child by the hand and led her around the back of the house, where her mother emerged through the back door. He ordered the mother inside and told both victims that no one would be hurt if they did what he said. He then bound their hands behind their backs with plastic ties, covered their mouths with duct tape, tied them together with twine, and secured the mother's feet. While restraining them, the suspect's blood dripped onto the woman's ankle. Investigators preserved that sample.

At the bank, employees reported a suspect wearing dark pantyhose over his head, holding a small handgun in his left hand and carrying an object in his other hand that appeared to resemble a possible explosive device. He fled with cash stuffed inside his shirt, leaving a set of plastic ties behind on the floor. A bank employee immediately called 911 and provided a description of the suspect's vehicle and license plate number. The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned in the parking lot of Aristokraft Plant #22 near 3rd Street and Industrial Park Road.

Despite those early leads, the case went unsolved for more than two decades. In 2024, it was reassigned to the Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit. With funding assistance from Seasons of Justice, a nonprofit that supports efforts to solve violent crimes, the previously collected DNA evidence was sent to Parabon NanoLabs Inc. for advanced genetic genealogy testing.

The results allowed an Indiana State Police genealogist to narrow the investigation to three brothers, two of whom had lived in Ferdinand at the time of the robbery and within walking distance of where the stolen vehicle was recovered. Two of the brothers are now deceased. The third, who lives outside Dubois County, was ruled out after investigators obtained a search warrant and conducted DNA testing.

Authorities say the genealogical analysis and available evidence have conclusively identified one of the deceased brothers as the suspect, effectively closing the case. Investigators are not releasing the names of the brothers, and it does not appear the deceased brothers will undergo DNA testing. Because the identified suspect is dead, no criminal charges can be filed.