On This Day in History
By Dr. Petronius Lawler
| Historian, Campbell County
 On this day in history in
1946, the town of Odyssey was rocked by an unexpected act of thievery as the
Odyssey Bank was broken into and robbed of $25,000 in a late night burglary.
It was believed at the time
that the $25,000 was stolen by one, possibly two thieves, according to bank
manager Percival Fenwick. "They got in through a back window, cut the alarm
system wires and crawled through," Fenwick said.
In the subsequent in-vestigation,
it was revealed that the new police recruit Ralph Howards was doing his
rounds of the street surrounding the bank when he was knocked unconscious by
the robbers as they were coming out with the money. Howards couldn't confirm
the number of men or what they looked like.
They mayor was shocked by the
robbery and said in a radio broadcast that "the whole town is in a state of
grief and disbelief that this sort of dishonesty could happen in Odyssey.
Nothing has ever happened like it before and we can only pray it won't
happen again."
The days that followed
deepened the mystery and the scandal. Percival Fenwick was accused by the
President of Odyssey Bank for letting information about the alarm system
"slip," thus enabling access into the bank. Fenwick was given temporary
leave from the bank while the police investigated the incident.
During that time, Fenwick made
a statement implicating Police cadet Ralph Howards in the robbery. Fenwick
claimed that Howards must have been involved in the theft since Howard's
story that he was "knocked unconscious" was unfounded by a medical
examination. Doctors reported that there was no sign of violence to Howards,
nor reason for his sudden passing out at the scene.
Howards later endured
intensive questioning by the internal affairs department of the Odyssey
police department and was cleared of any wrong doing. In their report, the
Odyssey detectives determined that Howards passed out as a result of
"delicate nerves, common among new, inexperienced police recruits."
The police continued to be
baffled by the theft until it was discovered that Spencer Barfield, a
drifter who had only recently been employed as a maintenance man at the
Fillmore Recreation Center, had disappeared the same night as the robbery.
Police suspected that he was the culprit and sent his description to police
stations all over the country.
To this day, the police
believe that Barfield stole the money and left the country.
Long time residents of Odyssey
will remember the emotional impact of the robbery on the whole community.
Tom Riley, one of our city council members, remembers that "it was the first
time Odyssey suffered at the hands of villains. It was as if we lost a
little of our innocence."
Many still wonder about the
case -- and will think about it again on this day in history.
(Editorial Note:
Developments in this exciting case can be heard on the "Adventures in
Odyssey" episodes, "The Case of the Secret Room".)
This
article originally appeared in "The Odyssey Times," a
special fictional newspaper produced by Focus on the Family to promote
Adventures in Odyssey.
Back to
The Odyssey Times
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