Suspect still sought in 1999 Fairfield cash height from truck | Sacramento Bee

Q: What transpired from the investigation into the robbery of the big-rig trailer of old money headed for San Francisco to be destroyed? The Bee posted the original story saying that someone cut a hole in the top of the trailer and lowered themselves down to fill a couple of bags full of cash, then tossing the bags and jumping off before the Fairfield truck weigh station.

A: No arrests have been reported in the brazen theft of $2.3 million from a Loomis, Fargo and Co. truck as it traveled between Sacramento and San Francisco on March 24, 1999.

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The tractor rig with an unarmored trailer reportedly left a Sacramento loading site about 7:30 on a rainy evening. When it arrived in San Francisco, approximately $2.3 million – in the form of small bills weighing more than 250 pounds – was missing.

Workers first noticed a pool of water on the trailer’s floor, then discovered a hole in the roof large enough for an average-size man to slip through, according to stories in The Sacramento Bee.

Two motorists who were behind the truck reported seeing a man in dark clothing jump off the truck as it slowed down at a weighing station at Cordelia, near the junction of Interstate 80 and Interstate 680 on the outskirts of Fairfield. Both said the man was not carrying anything, suggesting the money had been tossed off earlier. They said the man ran through roadside fields in the direction of nearby Solano Community College.

In March 2000, FBI officials revealed that an old, empty Dutch military duffel bag might be key to solving the case. They hoped someone would recognize the bag, which bore the stamped initials MVO, indicating it was used by the Netherlands Ministry of Defense, officials said.

In addition to the initials, it had several strands of neon-orange string attached at the top where it closed. It was described as well-worn, with mended rips, and appeared to date from the 1950s or ’60s.

The bag also bore the remains of what investigators believed was a luggage tag applied to the bag by the Netherlands railroad.

Investigators said it was clear that the hole in the roof of the trailer was cut from the outside, not by a stowaway inside the truck

After the heist, Loomis, Fargo and Co. discontinued cash shuttles.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 9:06 PM.