Locals recall 2 bank robberies, and a rollover collision involving Clark County’s longest-serving sheriff

Published at 7:00 am, September 25, 2023 | Updated at 6:58 pm, September 25, 2023

Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

holden pic final — Earl Holden is Clark County’s longest-serving sheriff. He served from 1950-1980. | Courtesy Bonnie Stoddard

Editor’s note: This is the fourteenth in a series about former sheriffs in eastern Idaho.

DUBOIS – Betty Kirkpatrick lay on the floor of the Security State Bank in Dubois as a robber wearing a ski mask and helmet held a gun to her head.

It was Friday, Dec. 8, 1978, and the recently widowed woman was one of three tellers still at the bank three minutes before closing time. Charlotte “Charley” Rich, one of the tellers, was looking out the window at the falling snow, her back to the front door.

An unidentified man with a gun and a mask, along with a blue trench coat and gloves, walked in at that moment.

“He told Charley and James Edward (a bank patron) to get back behind the counter where I was,” Kirkpatrick shares in a written history. “He told us to get down on the floor.”

Her third child was a senior in high school at the time, and Kirkpatrick says there was a lot of traffic that night because there was a high school basketball game.

“As I was laying there on the floor with a gun to my head, I thought, who’s going to raise the kids?” Kirkpatrick tells EastIdahoNews.com.

As Kirkpatrick and the others lay there, Dawna Woodruff, the third teller, went into the vault to get the money for the robber. Kirkpatrick doesn’t remember how much money it was, but says it wasn’t a lot.

Danette Frederiksen, a member of the community, saw what was happening as she drove by and yelled that it was being robbed. The suspect grabbed the cash and tried to escape through the back door. Discovering there was an iron bar over it, he ran to the front door and took off.

“The minute he left, I remember Charley laying there with the phone calling the sheriff,” says Kirkpatrick.

Earl Holden, Clark County’s longest-serving sheriff who rarely wore a gun, responded immediately in search of the suspect. He never found him, and to this day, no one knows who did it or the motive behind it.

“Thank the Lord no one was shot,” Kirkpatrick writes.

old bank dubois — A building on Main Street in Dubois that once housed the Security State Bank. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Mud Lake robbery

Bob Saunders, a Wyoming man who used to live in Idaho, recalls another robbery in Jefferson County two years earlier that Sheriff Holden was involved in.

It happened in Mud Lake on Nov. 9, 1977. Saunders was the bank manager at the time. Around 2 p.m., he says a man with a 12-gauge shotgun walked in and asked for all the money in the drawers and the vault.

“Our vault safe had a 15-minute time delay before it could be opened. The robber said, ‘I’ll wait.’ We stood there for 15 minutes looking at a 12-gauge shotgun. It got pretty big,” Saunders says.

The man, who Saunders says was a 19-year-old kid from Ohio, got in his car and left with nearly $100,000. He headed west out of Mud Lake towards Spencer.

Former Jefferson County Sheriff Blair Olsen, who was a rookie deputy at the time, remembers traveling at 135 mph on Interstate 15 through Sage Junction to catch up with Holden, who was in pursuit of the suspect near Humphrey.

Authorities set up roadblocks at the Idaho-Montana state line and in other areas. The suspect circled back towards Dubois. Meanwhile, Olsen and his deputies took another route to try and cut him off. Olsen fired his gun at the suspect’s vehicle once they got close enough to him.

Holden, who was unknowingly headed towards the suspect from the opposite direction, hit him head-on at 80 mph near Stoddard Creek. The sheriff’s vehicle was upside down and the suspect’s vehicle stopped sideways in the middle of the road.

“(The suspect) had been shaken up quite a bit and was surrounded by cops at this point. They told him to come out with his hands up. He came out with his shotgun leveled and they blew him away,” says Saunders.

mud lake crash pic — The bank robbery pursuit ended in a collision with the suspect’s car. Clark County Sheriff Earl Holden’s vehicle is seen upside down a few miles north on the old road from Stoddard Creek. Photo was taken on Nov. 9, 1977 | Courtesy Blair Olsen

Holden’s beginnings in law enforcement

Earl Holden was born on March 17, 1913 in Roberts. A history compiled by Bonnie Stoddard — a 93-year-old resident of Dubois — shows Holden worked various jobs prior to becoming sheriff. His resume included a 9-year stint with the Idaho Transportation Department and later, the Clark County Road & Bridge Department.

Holden was a well-respected member of the community. Stoddard describes him as a friendly man with a pleasant disposition who “rarely got excited.” His favorite hobby was going fishing, especially along the Salmon River.

In 1949, then Sheriff Sid Close announced he was going to retire and Holden decided to run in his place. He was elected and became the county’s fourth sheriff. He served in that capacity from Jan. 1950 through Jan. 1981. To date, he is the longest-serving public official in Clark County, according to Stoddard’s history.

“He never wore a gun, unless he felt he might need one. There were … a few times he did need one,” Stoddard writes.

The thing Holden loved most about being sheriff, Stoddard reports, was the variety. Something new happened every day.

earl holden pic — Photo of Earl Holden provided by Bonnie Stoddard

Stoddard’s memories of Holden

Stoddard has fond memories of Holden chaperoning dances in Spencer when she was growing up.

“He went to Spencer every Saturday night. It was a pool hall and dance floor with an open door in between the two where you could go in and get drinks,” she recalls. “He and his wife sat right there as the kids danced with a (jukebox) running all night.”

Dances were also held in Lidy Hot Springs about 16 miles north of Dubois. People would frequently get in fights after having too much to drink, Stoddard says, and breaking it up became a regular part of Holden’s routine. Sometimes, the parties would spend a night in jail.

At that time, the jail was in a small cinder block building on the east side of Dubois. Overseeing it was not an easy task.

“Prisoners were always trying to figure out a way to get through the windows to escape,” Stoddard writes. “The bums traveling through town climbing aboard a train found it a welcome place to spend a night for free. To give the prisoners something to do, (Holden gave them a can of paint and a brush) to paint the walls.”

old jail dubois — The old jail on the east end of Dubois that now serves as a storage building for the Lions Club. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

The current sheriff’s office and courthouse on Main Street was completed in 1977.

Low wages were an issue for Holden throughout his administration, according to Stoddard. It ultimately led to his retirement. When Holden left office, the wage for Clark County sheriff was the lowest of any official in the state.

It’s been an ongoing issue for many years, and the county has struggled with employee retention as a result.

Stoddard’s written history contains a quote from Holden shortly after his retirement. While reflecting on his 30-year career, he expressed gratitude to the people of Clark County.

“I’ve enjoyed the work. Most people appreciate the help given by police officers and most people of the county are a pleasure to work with,” Holden is reported to have said.

Holden was 89 when he died on May 11, 2002. He is buried in the Spencer Cemetery.

holden headstone — Earl Holden’s headstone at the Spencer Cemetery | Courtesy Peggy Shuping, Find A Grave

Breaking News

Kayaker OK after overturning in the Snake River