FREE CITY — Hank Malone was once known for slipping through bank vaults. Now, he's vanished into thin air.
The 53-year-old former career criminal — who rebranded himself in recent years as a bestselling true crime blogger, speaker, and self-proclaimed redemption story — has been missing since Saturday afternoon. He was last seen at the exclusive Fresh Air Country Club, a waterfront enclave south of the city, known more for its champagne brunches than criminal intrigue.
Malone rose to unlikely fame after serving time for a string of high-profile armed robberies in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Upon his release, he shed his ski mask for a microphone, launching Malone’s Memo, a slick, sensational blog that mixed confessional storytelling with interviews from inside Free City's underworld. He was a fixture on the true crime lecture circuit, known for his gravelly voice, dark humor, and uncanny ability to charm suburban audiences with tales of his criminal past.
But beneath the charisma, some say Malone had started poking the wrong bears. "He wasn't just talking about the past anymore," said one former law enforcement official familiar with Malone’s recent work. "He was sniffing around current operations — real players, real stakes."
In recent months, Malone had teased a new exposé on his blog, promising revelations that would “connect the dots between boardrooms and blood money.” He hinted at ties between respected institutions and old crime families — including allegations involving the lucrative redevelopment of the Free Bay area.
Sources say Malone was spotted Saturday enjoying lunch on the veranda of the Fresh Air Country Club, speaking animatedly with two unidentified men. Security footage reportedly shows him leaving the property around 2:45 p.m. in his black vintage Lincoln — a car that has not yet been recovered.
Police have not yet classified Malone’s disappearance as suspicious, but friends and fans are raising alarms. His blog has gone silent. His phone is off. And Malone, never one to skip a chance to be seen, has not posted on any of his active social media accounts in over 72 hours.
To his followers — and the ever-growing community of armchair sleuths — the mystery of Hank Malone may be his final, and most dangerous, story yet. “Either he’s gone deep undercover,” said a longtime reader on a popular fan forum, “or someone decided Hank was asking one question too many.”
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