Story here, from The Austin American-Statesman.
We get all sorts over here, but Thailand seems to be a particularly popular choice for bank robbers from all over. There’s always one getting popped and extradited — or popped and buried.
I’m not sure what’s dumber, robbing a bank or fleeing to Thailand. I’m sure those two caucasian Americans will blend right into the crowd.
There are quite a few expatriates in many areas of Thailand. It would be vaguely possible to assume a new identity and live a quiet life.
The stupidity here, IMO, is assuming that Thailand is an unsophisticated backwater.
In all fairness, quite a bit of Thailand is an unsophisticated backwater, almost anywhere beyond the few large cities and tourist areas. Frankly, that’s part of it’s charm.
Yeah, but beyond the large cities and tourist areas, they wouldn’t be able to blend in! Which, I guess, is what pravnik is saying.
Well, how likely is it that the local authorities wherever the bandits fetch up will be motived enough to deport them? It wouldn’t matter whether they blended in or not, if the local sheriff doesn’t give a rat’s derriere that a couple of American desperadoes are holed up in his village. If he doesn’t muster up the oomph to roust 'em and send 'em back to America, they may be perfectly safe.
From what I’ve seen, they like the kudos. A lot of local cops enjoy getting on TV, especially in international cases. They also talk very indiscreetly to the cameras, which can be very entertaining.
Yeah, more or less. I’ve wanted to visit Thailand for years (we even tried to figure out how to get married there), but I’d really like to be able to put something other than “fugitive” under occupation in my visa application.
Well stop holding up convenience stores then!
Plane tickets are expensive, bro.
My guess is they’re in Pattaya. That is sleaze central and loaded with farangs. The police are especially corruptible in that town. There’s a significant Russian Mafia presence in Pattaya. Many retired British gangsters who have opened bars. These guys will actually fit right in.
It depends on the pressure. Many bank robbers and other fugitives do get extradited back home. If Interpol or a government applies some heat, it may no longer be worth it to look the other way. Thailand does from time to time make half-hearted attempts to clean up it’s image, and it’s times like those that it can be especially embarrassing to have a known fugitive felon in your midst.
I donno. If you were willing to live a quiet life, then going to a country on the other side of the world may not be bad. You would need a good fake passport.
If you were to go to small city in Japan and teach English if you didn’t steal enough to get by for the rest of your life – or tell people you are a retired dot-com’er if you did – and not draw attention to yourself, then no one is going to know who you were, especially if the only information out there is a photo showing the lower part of your face, like the Ponytail Bandit has.
The wrong way to live on the lam in the Andrew Luster method. Travel to a resort area in Mexico where plenty of Americans go on vacation and socialize with them. They were the ones who recognized Luster.
I’ve been on vacation to Niijima a small island off the coast of Japan. The guy at the hotel said that sometimes wanted people (Japanese) will flee to there, thinking they will be safe, but it’s too small and anyone moving there attracts attention.
Yes, it’s actually very easy for a farang to disappear in Thailand if he or she keeps a low profile. Bangkok is one of the world’s largest cities, 20th largest by population, I believe.
According to the Sacramento Bee, they might have been captured already. Yes, she was in Thailand.
Y’all send 'em back to Texas! We’ll larn 'em not to rob no banks nohow!
yeah, I think that was their motivation, too 
This was allegedly their third robbery (and the girl is only 21!!!).
I’m pretty sure your larnin’ procedures need work.
I was joking, of cuss, but they’ll probably be subject our shared larnin’ procedures in them thar fancy-pants federal courts.
Yes, you beat me to it. They did indeed catch the Ponytail Bandit here in Bangkok yesterday. Local story here. They nabbed her at a small hotel on Khaosan Road. That’s the main backpacker ghetto in Bangkok.
Her husband remains at large, probably in India it’s believed.