In December of 1933 Nelson sent for Chase, still in California, and they remained together until Nelson's death. Shortly after they reteamed, a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis. Witnesses said the killers were driving a car with California license plates, and those plates were eventually traced to a car owned by Nelson.
Chase and Nelson were next identified in Bremerton, Wash., and then a short time later back in Reno, Nev. Years later Chase told an interviewer that Nelson killed a man in Reno during that period. He said the victim was a material witness in a mail fraud case involving associates of theirs, and that Nelson and the witness had got into an altercation over the coming trial.
In April of 1934 Nelson, Helen and Chase were back in Chicago with Dillinger and others. Within days the gang and its entourage was again on the move. Although Chase remained behind, Nellson and his wife went went with Dillinger and others to the Little Bohemia Lodge in remote northernWisconsin. The party included Van Meter, Dillinger, John Hamilton, Tommy Carroll, and assorted wives, girl friends and even a family pet.
The gang used false names and stories, but owner Emil Wanatka quickly learned their true identities and word was sent to the FBI.
The FBI proceeded to the lodge on April 22, 1934. They had planned to take the gang by surprise at night, but barking dogs alerted the outlaws and they managed to escape in the darkness, but left their women, high-powered weapons, money and clothing behind.
Nelson fled to a nearby house where he held several people hostage. A short time later FBI agents J.C. Newman and W. Carter Baum, along with the local sheriff, arrived at the house to alert the occupants about the trouble at the nearby lodge. As the car pulled to a stop, Nelson rushed to the vehicle and ordered the three men out. Before they could comply, however, Nelson began firing his .45 automatic. He hit all three, instantly killing Baum. Nelson managed to escape.
Within days Nelson rejoined Chase, and within a month Helen and the other women captured at the lodge were released on parole. She quickly joined her husband the three moved to a small cabin near Lake Geneva, Wis. On June 23 U.S. Attorney General Homer S. Cummings offered a reward for Nelson's capture or information leading to his arrest. The heat on Nelson became intense.
The gang next surfaced on June 30, 1934, when Nelson, Dillinger and Van Meter, along with at least two other men, robbed the Merchants National Bank in South Bend, Ind. A police officer was shot and killed durng the robbery, which was the gang's last together. The gang returned to Chicago and several days later were meeting at a secluded area on Wolf Road, just outside the city, when police officers on routine patrol noticed them. As they were approaching to see if they needed assistance, Nelson allegedly open fire and the gang scattered. It would be the last time the gang was together.
On July 22, 1934, Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater as he, Anna Sage and his grilfriend Polly Hamilton, were exiting after seeing the Clark Gable film "Manhattan Melodrama." Dillinger had been set up by Sage. Ironically, Nelson, who disapproved of Dillinger's many girl friends, had warned him at Little Bohemia that a woman would be the death of him.
Upon hearing about Dillinger's death, Nelson, Helen, Chase and two others immediately left Chicago for California. En route, they were stopped for speeding in a small town in Utah. Nelson cheerly paid the $5 fine and was promptly released. No fingerprints were taken and Nelson's car, loaded with machineguns, shotguns and other high-powered weapons, wasn't searched. The sheriff that stopped him never knew that, at least for a short time, he had control of one of the most wanted men in America.
In late August the gang returned to Chicago, but within a month Nelson went to Nevada and Chase left for New York City. On Oct. 10, 1934, they rejoined near Minden, Nev., and headed back to Chicago. On. Nov. 26, 1934, they stole a car and headed to Wisconsin. Nelson had less than 48 hours to live.
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