Lenawee County History: Cashier shot in 1923 Onsted bank robbery

Nearly every small town in history has been visited by bank robbers — some local bandits, many transient.

One hundred years ago, robbers passing through Onsted added to their crime by shooting the cashier during their criminal activity at the Onsted State Bank.

The Daily Telegram reported at the time the crime in Onsted May 22, 1923, was the first daylight bank robbery in Lenawee County. The two culprits, John Murray, 25, and Cecil Hizer, reportedly 15, had just come from Rochester, Indiana, where they robbed the bank in that town as well. It is not known how the pair ended up 175 miles from the north-central Indiana town to Lenawee County.

Late in the afternoon, at about 2:56 p.m., Murray and Hizer barged into the Onsted State Bank and demanded money. Upon hearing the command, cashier William Redfield spun around in his chair. The sudden action startled the robbers, and a shot was fired, striking Redfield in the forearm. Teller Ethel Wood was told to "put 'em up and keep 'em up," but she dropped to the floor and hid under the counter, with the money she was counting when the two came in with guns drawn. Her attempt to hide herself and the money failed, and in moments, the money was scooped up at gunpoint.

At that time, a local patron, Charles Schultis, entered the bank with a $10 deposit in hand. One of the robbers relieved him of that as they ran out the door.

In their haste to leave, one of the robbers dropped a bundle of several hundred dollars, reducing the amount of their take to $130. Upon leaving, their excited demeanor turned to calm as they sought to hide through actions what they had just done. They casually walked to their car and left south on Main Street.

Redfield, weakened by blood loss, left the bank through the back door and stumbled to the post office and drug store nearby and tried to call the police. Unable to do so, he shouted to those in earshot, "they are robbing the bank! They are robbing the bank!"

At the same time, Shultis had run out into the street and alerted passersby the bank had just been robbed. Deputy Fred Williams organized a makeshift posse and took off in the direction the robbers had last been seen, and the Lenawee County Sheriff's Office was also notified.

While the pair were not immediately caught, detectives were able to track the vehicle's tire marks on the unpaved roads two miles south of Onsted, then east and north across country roads to M-50, where the trail was lost.

However, days later, Murray and Hizer were caught in Rochester, Indiana, and quickly confessed to their crime spree in both Indiana and Michigan. Apparently, the two had traveled to Onsted from Indiana twice, casing the town and intending to rob the bank. However, they lost their "nerve" to do so, until the third visit, where they arrived in town around noon and spent a few hours asking questions. They were wanted as well for shooting a police officer in LaPorte, Indiana, in the days leading up to the Onsted robbery. After an extradition squabble in early June 1923 between Indiana and Michigan law enforcement officers, the pair were brought to justice for their actions. Murray was sentenced to 25 years in a Michigan prison, and Hizer was confined to an Indiana boys home until the age of 21. From a newspaper standpoint, they then disappeared into history.

Dan Cherry is a Lenawee County historian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County History: Cashier shot in 1923 Onsted bank robbery