By Brad Dison
It has been almost nine decades since Bienville Parish Sheriff Henderson Jordan, Chief Deputy Prentiss Oakley, along with Texas lawmen Frank Hamer, B.M. “Maney” Gault, Bob Alcorn, and Ted Hinton finally ended the crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde on May 23, 1934 near Sailes in Bienville Parish.
Although 89 years have passed, lawlessness still surrounds the spot where their crime spree ended. Sometime during the night of April 3rd or early on the morning of the 4th, a thief or thieves stole the bronze plaque from its concrete stand.
The theft of the plaque is just the most recent in a long line of criminality surrounding the site’s markers. Since the first marker, one made of granite, was erected at the site in the 1970s, people have chipped pieces of it away, spraypainted graffiti on it, and shot it. Damage from numerous gunshot marks has made this marker almost unreadable.
Shortly after the bronze plaque was placed on the site, it too was shot and spraypainted. A plexiglass shield was mounted to the plaque to better protect it.
People from all over the world visit the site to take pictures of the historical markers. While taking photos for this article, a man from out of state pulled over to take pictures. He jokingly said he was looking for the markers and drove right past it. He had to turn around and come back. I watched as he aimed his phone’s camera toward the stand which had held the bronze plaque. He lowered the phone and looked at me. I explained that the plaque had been stolen hours earlier. He was visibly disappointed.
Many people will be disappointed until the historical plaque is returned to its rightful place.
If you have any information, please contact the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office at (318)263-2215.
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