The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Plaque Unbelievably Stolen This Week

Local Louisiana historian, Brad Dison, took to his YouTube channel to alert us this week that a thief, or thieves, have stolen the historical Bonnie and Clyde plaque from the site of their ambush near Gibsland in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

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According to Brad's YouTube video, the theft just took place earlier this week, but it is not the first time this memorial marker has been the victim of vandalism:

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, spray painted 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 spray painted. A plexiglass shield was mounted to the plaque to better protect it.

In the event you are unaware of the significance of this site, and those it memorializes, this is the exact spot where on May 23, 1934, the infamous duo of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, aka "Bonnie and Clyde" were shot to death in an ambush by officers, after what the FBI calls, "one of the most colorful and spectacular manhunts the nation had seen up to that time."

When I say "ambush", we're talking about a major shoot out. An article from cultofweird.com, says there were a total of 167 bullets that struck the stolen Ford vehicle driven by the duo. The article goes on to reveal, "“Each of us six officers had a shotgun and an automatic rifle and pistols. We opened fire with the automatic rifles. They were emptied before the car got even with us. Then we used shotguns,” officers Ted Hinton and Bob Alcorn stated afterwards.

Brad Dison shoots from the heart when he writes, "we are left to wonder what kind of people would steal a piece of history such as this."

Should you have any information pertinent to this theft, please contact the Bienville Parish Sheriff's Department immediately at 318-263-2215