Charles Hendrickson

Charles Hendrickson. The Notorious Blue Parka Bandit. , In the spring of 1905 a rash of armed robberies occurred along the trail that led from the gold mines into Fairbanks. Miners bringing their gold into Fairbanks to deposit into the bank suddenly found themselves looking down the barrel of a gun that was held by a masked man wearing a blue parka. He would take their gold and then disappear into the woods leaving the victim shaken and much poorer for the experience., It was not long before this early day villain became known as "the Blue Parka Bandit." His real name was Charles Hendrickson and he had come North from Finland in search of gold, but instead engaged on a crime spree that eventually landed him in prison., Hendrickson proved to be quite an escape artist. During his long career as a convict, he had three escapes from the Fairbanks authorities, one attempted escape from the McNeil Island Prison, and one escape from Leavenworth Prison. He was finally released from Leavenworth in the early 1920's and never heard from again. Story provided by the Fairbanks Igloos of the Pioneers of Alaska..