DNA technology solved the 19-year-old cold case of the “Cowboy Hat Bandit.” And the man who allegedly shot motorcycle cop Jeff Garner, after robbing a Texas bank committed suicide.
On Sunday as police prepared to arrest him, Mark Alan Long, 60, was found dead. His body was discovered in southeast Oklahoma City close to a cell tower.
Authorities believe he killed himself. And the medical examiner will report on details when the autopsy is complete.
With Long’s death, the cold case is finally closed. But his friends and family are shocked, by the possibility, that he may have robbed six banks in three states, 19 years ago. And he also shot Garner in the last known anyone.
Now a North Richland Hills police captain Jeff Garner survived the shooting. But the event haunted him.
“While it’s inconsequential to any prosecution that won’t take place now, 19 years, one month, and nine days later I identified Mark Long in a photo lineup,” Garner said. “I never forgot his face.”
Cowboy Hat Bandit was active from 1998 to 2003
