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“The Flying Bandit”
Elizabeth Anne Mochrie
16,student/cashier


My banner is a “poster” of the man Ken Leishman, although he is more famous for his title “The Flying Bandit”.  The banner is a depiction of him and the plane crash that claimed his life, or so we’ve been led to believe.

Ken Leishman was a citizen of Red Lake for years before he was caught and convicted while attempting one of the biggest gold heists in Canada.  He served his time in jail, before returning once again to our northern community. He was accompanying a patient on a medical flight, and both he and the passenger died in the crash. At the time he had been elected as the deputy mayor.


I wanted to make this banner appear similar to an old movie poster. The story of the Flying Bandit intrigued me, and indeed it does have that same sort of “romantic” appeal of a classic film. It is relatively safe to assume that Ken Leishman died in that plane crash, but one can still ponder the events and wonder if he was just performing another greatly disguised gold-heist.

The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre is a charitable organization, funded by the Municipality of Red Lake and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.   Reg # 87315 2714 RR001