[4][5] Born in 1890, Verne Sankey worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway in his youth and later attempted to start a farm in South Dakota.
The two men eventually decided to try kidnapping and, in June 1932, they abducted Haskell Bohn in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Seven months later, they kidnapped Denver millionaire Charles Boettcher II and held them at Sankey's turkey ranch in South Dakota until they were paid $60,000.
Ironically, it was the high-profile kidnappings of William Hamm Jr. and Edward Bremer by the Barker Gang that led to their downfall.
As the authorities were not yet aware of the existence of the Barkers, the kidnappings were blamed on Sankey and Alcorn, who were quickly tracked down by the FBI.