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FBI Using Digital Billboards to Find 'Granddad Bandit'

By Kamika Dunlap on June 03, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The FBI is on the lookout for an elusive suspect who the agency has dubbed the "Granddad Bandit," and hopes using new digital billboards will help them make a quick capture.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has plans to post the picture of the "Granddad Bandit" on digital billboards around the country in an effort to catch him in any of the several states where he is wanted, the Associated Press reports.

So far, the suspect has robbed 21 banks in 12 states and is wanted in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

Authorities describe the Granddad Bandit as a heavyset bald man in believed to be 50 or 60 years old.

Not much else is known about the suspect, but law enforcement is hoping that the 25 digital billboards in Missouri along with billboards in several other states where robberies have occurred will help them apprehend elusive criminals like the Granddad Bandit.

As previously discussed, the FBI is using giant digital billboards to help stop crime.

The FBI is taking out billboards on the bad guys to grab attention through outdoor advertising. Clear Channel Outdoor, Adams Outdoor Advertising and Lamar Advertising Co., have all donated billboard space to the FBI.

Digital billboards are a fast-growing segment of the outdoor advertising market. Typically, they cost an average $200,000 to $300,000, according to industry experts.

Currently, there are more 40 states with digital billboards dedicated to the FBI in order to help stop crime. Officials say billboards have been directly tied to solving 35 cases in the past two years.

The digital billboards have reportedly been just as successful as America's Most Wanted television show in the helping law enforcement make arrests.

The giant billboards feature a video display screen instead of a static printed picture and text.

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