George Robert Johnston (1954 – 2004), better known as the Ballarat Bandit or John Doe #39-04, was a Canadian-born burglar who gained nationwide attention as he spent the last several years of his life hiding from police in Death Valley National Park, California, United States.

Tommi believes that medication Johnston was given in prison had exacerbated, or possibly caused, his breakdown, which left him unable to support his family.

[2] In 2003, Johnston began his criminal career by burglarizing multiple areas of Ballarat, California, for various odd items with which he supported himself,[1] as well as stealing weapons and hiding them inside of his various campsites.

It was suspected for some time that he might have been a terrorist, or at the very least that he had military training, as his endurance and evasion techniques were rather impressive and foiled the police for months.

[1] His body was identified by fingerprint identification in 2006 when the coroner thought to send his details to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).