Burgled Indiana Barbecue Owner Seeks Justice, Hoosier Style

A week ago last Friday, someone (or someones) used a crowbar to pry their way into the Rusted Silo Southern BBQ & Brew House in Lizton, Indiana, unscrewed the lights in the dining room, and took an undisclosed amount of money from the 100-year-old cash register, which they also broke. A delivery driver reported the crime to the police the following morning after he saw the broken doors, and the sheriff's office opened an investigation.

But owner Rob Ecker has decided to take justice into his own hands. In the week after the break-in, he printed up a bunch of Old West–style "Wanted" posters, which he hung up all over town (including in the sheriff's office) and handed out to customers. He's also posted a video on Facebook, scored to Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive," in which he requests information about the miscreants, promises to keep the identity of the informant confidential, and, best of all, promises free barbecue for life to the person who turns in the thief. Anyone who takes a selfie with one of the wanted posters gets 15% off their next meal.

So far, Ecker says, he's gotten lots of support from customers. Some have jokingly turned in friends and relatives for free barbecue, it's true, but others have offered to buy security cameras and stand guard in the restaurant parking lot overnight. That's Hoosier justice.