identify the linking verb They were sure bandit had red hair?

The linking verb in the sentence "They were sure bandit had red hair" is were.

Here's why:

* Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a noun, pronoun, or adjective that renames or describes the subject.

* In this sentence, "They" is the subject, and "sure" is the predicate adjective describing their state of mind.

* The verb "were" links "They" to the adjective "sure".

Let me know if you have any other sentences you'd like to analyze!