Different Ways Fugitives Have Been Caught: Stories of Luck, Technology, and Unlikely Heroes
When you commit a crime, the odds are stacked against you, and you will likely be caught.
However, some criminals have managed to evade capture for years, only to be found through luck, hard work, and innovative methods. From the intervention of new technologies to the unexpected assistance from animals, the stories of how these elusive fugitives were eventually caught are nothing short of remarkable.
10. Joseph Kimsey: Found by a Family’s Pet Goat
The Unusual Manhunt
In February 2015, Joseph Kimsey, a soldier with an outstanding animal abuse charge, was discovered by an animal in Colorado. Kimsey, also known as Joseph Hargett, fled a traffic stop in El Paso County. Authorities chased him, and he eventually abandoned his pickup truck, turning the car chase into a manhunt.
Dwight the Hero Goat
The Browning family, informed by the state patrol about a wanted fugitive on the run in their area, started locking their doors. They noticed their six-year-old goat, Dwight, staring at what appeared to be bushes. John Browning recalls, “One more time I’ll just quickly check all the doors and windows and make sure they’re locked, and I just happened to glance down this way [points at his goats], and I said, ‘Kathy, Dwight’s looking at someone.’ ” Browning saw their goat staring directly at Kimsey, who was hiding in the bushes. Kimsey went to their neighbour’s house, but the Brownings called their neighbours, who convinced Kimsey to surrender to the authorities.
The Goat’s Key Role
Many believe that if it weren’t for Dwight the goat pointing out the fugitive in hiding, Kimsey would still be on the run. John’s son, Nick Browning, said about the goat: “He’s a hero. [ . . . ] He deserves the key to the city!”
9. Leslie Isben Rogge: The First Man Caught by the FBI’s Website
The Internet as a Crime-Fighting Tool
Leslie Isben Rogge is most notable as the first fugitive captured by the FBI’s website. His story dates back to when the Internet was first recognized as a crime-fighting tool. Rogge committed over 30 bank robberies. The FBI added him to their Most Wanted List in 1990, but he fled the United States about two years later. After he left the country, the case went cold.
A Teenager’s Discovery
In 1996, a teenager living in Guatemala used the Internet and checked out the FBI’s website. He looked over the wanted posters and saw that one seemed remarkably similar to a family friend named “Uncle Bill,” who had helped him install his computer weeks before. The wanted fugitive was Leslie Isben Rogge. After the teen reported his find to the FBI, the subsequent manhunt and media frenzy forced Rogge to turn himself in at the US embassy in Guatemala City.
The Impact of the Capture
Rogge’s capture using such an innovative tool (for the time) helped convince the FBI to use the Internet more often in its crime-fighting efforts. With cyberspace’s help, the FBI now had a potentially international weapon to fight crime.
8. Eduardo Rodriguez: Caught Through Facebook
Tying the Crime to the Fugitive
Eduardo Rodriguez, the second-in-command of a Los Angeles gang, was indicted for four homicides and two attempted homicides. In 2001, he allegedly killed Margie Mendoza, a mother of three, while she sat in her car. It wasn’t until 2003 that the police managed to tie Rodriguez to Mendoza’s death, but by then, he was on the run and wouldn’t be seen until a decade later in a very unusual place.
Facebook Leads to Capture
Fast-forward to 2015. Rodriguez had been the LAPD’s “most wanted” for over a decade. Detectives in Glendale reignited the case when one of them saw a recent picture of Rodriguez on the Facebook page of one of his gang associates. Initially, authorities believed Rodriguez had fled to Mexico after he received word that the police were looking for him. He had gone to the nearby community of Riverside, where he worked as a carpenter, found a fiancée, visited Las Vegas, and even went to Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles without getting noticed by law enforcement.
The Arrest
One evening, when Rodriguez went to work, the authorities came in and took him into custody 12 years after they first indicted him. Rodriguez concealed his identity well; his fiancée was “genuinely shocked.” His neighbour described him as a nice man. Whatever the case, Rodriguez is awaiting trial as of this writing.
7. Dominic Reddick: Caught Taking Doughnuts From the Trash
The Initial Crime and Escape
In February 2003, Dominic Reddick was accused of killing a police officer in Orlando, along with multiple armed assaults. He went on the run, sparking a fierce manhunt that spanned two states and involved hundreds of officers. After months and months of searching, Reddick was finally caught in a depressing state. A woman who had heard of the case called the police after she saw Reddick digging for doughnuts in a garbage bin.
Reddick’s Dire Situation
Reddick wanted to flee to the Cayman Islands, where he had family. He had escaped from a prison transfer, barefoot and shackled. He managed to reach Georgia after allegedly paying a woman $1,000 to take him to Savannah. While the police discredited this story, they still had no answers about how Reddick got so far.
The Capture
Reddick seemed to want to be captured because of his poor health, starved state, and the fact that it was mid-December. He claimed he wanted the doughnuts because he’d had nothing to eat for some time. The garbage bin was outside of a convenience store on an interstate. Coincidentally, the convenience store was used as a command post by police searching for him in the area. It took only 15 minutes for the dogs to pick up his scent.
The Aftermath
After a chase by authorities, Reddick was taken into custody and sent back to Florida, where he was treated for cuts and scrapes from hiding in swamps and forests. He had also developed pneumonia.
6. Thomas Holden: The First Man on the FBI’s Most Wanted List
Holden’s Criminal History
While Leslie Isben Rogge was the first FBI fugitive captured by the Internet, Thomas Holden was the first to put his face on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Holden and his accomplice, Francis Keating, were prolific bank robbers during the 1920s and 1930s. They were first captured in 1928 and given 25 years each. They were sent to Leavenworth Prison, one of the most famous prisons in the US. However, they wouldn’t be locked up for long.
The Escapes and Re-capture
In 1930, after serving just two years, Holden and Keating escaped from prison with the help of fellow bank robber George “Machine Gun” Kelly. After they got out, Holden and Keating started to rob banks again. Their crime spree lasted until 1932 when they were captured again. They returned to Leavenworth, and the authorities were sure that Holden and Keating wouldn’t escape again. Their prediction was accurate; Holden and Keating served their time.
The Most Wanted List
Holden was paroled in 1947. His life of crime seemed over, but that wasn’t the case. In 1949, after being a free man for two years, Holden killed his wife and two of her brothers after a drunken argument. In 1950, the FBI was still desperately looking for Holden when they came up with a brilliant idea. They released the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Holden was the inaugural fugitive. A year after the list was first released, someone recognized Holden, who lived nearby and worked as a plasterer. The FBI arrested him at his work. He was later given a life sentence and died in prison. The Most Wanted list became one of the most iconic crime-fighting devices.
5. Clarence David Moore: Turned Himself In for Health Care
The Long Run
In April 2015, Ronnie Dickinson turned himself into authorities and claimed that he had been a fugitive on the run for nearly 40 years. The police had never heard of him because he was Clarence David Moore. Moore had committed a series of crimes and escaped prison. He’d evaded capture for 39 long years.
Seeking Health Care
Moore’s reason for the anticlimactic end to his time on the run was simple: He wanted the health care offered in prison. Moore was 66 years old and had been living in Frankfort, Kentucky, for some time without any trouble. He hadn’t aroused any suspicion. No one suspected him at all. Neighbours knew him as a kind, albeit sickly, man. According to them, he was a diabetic.
The Surrender
Moore first went to prison in the 1970s in North Carolina but escaped in 1971, only to be caught hours later. After several other escape attempts, Moore disappeared for good in 1975—until he turned himself in. He had had a stroke, which made speech difficult and left him partially paralyzed. Because he had nowhere near the kind of money needed for treatment, and he had no valid social security under his alias, he gave himself up to authorities to receive the treatment he needed.
The End of the Run
Would Moore have been captured if he hadn’t turned himself in? We will never know, but Moore won’t return to the North Carolina facility he escaped. It closed its doors in 2002.
4. Chris Gay: Arrested After Stealing a Tour Bus
The Escape Artist
Chris Gay has quite a reputation. He has escaped from law enforcement 13 times in some of the most brash ways possible. Because of his reputation as an escape artist, Gay has been called “Little Houdini.” However, his life of crime came to an end in 2007 after he stole singer Crystal Gayle’s touring bus. Authorities found him a day later at the Daytona International Speedway, where he said he was tired of running.
The Start of a Criminal Career
Chris Gay had been on the run for 20 years when he was caught. His criminal career began when he was young. He came from a poor Southern family that could afford very few luxuries. Gay and his brother began to steal poultry and snacks from local shops. Soon, they moved from small items to bicycles, then ATVs, and finally, they started to steal cars. They evaded authorities every time. On one occasion, Gay was taken to a juvenile detention center. Later, the sheriff who brought him there went to a convenience store to buy a drink. Gay had broken out of the detention center and was waiting for the sheriff.
The Final Escape
Gay continued to commit crimes and evade authorities until the 2007 incident in which he escaped from a prison transport so he could see his mother, who was dying of cancer. After stealing multiple vehicles to elude authorities, Gay stole Crystal Gayle’s bus and went to the USA International Speedway, where he claimed to be NASCAR driver Tony Stewart’s transport. He left after the manager of the speedway became suspicious. Authorities caught him after asking for directions from a person (who was actually with the police) and placed him under arrest. Gay would escape again in 2009, but authorities caught him soon after. He has remained in prison since.
3. Ethan Couch: Caught After Ordering a Pizza
The Affluenza Defense
Ethan Couch has recently returned to the media spotlight after first becoming famous in 2013 for getting away with killing four people in a drunk driving incident by using the “affluenza defence.” Couch’s lawyers claimed that he had been so protected and coddled by his parents’ money that he couldn’t discern between right and wrong. The court gave Couch probation. He wasn’t allowed to drink while on probation. Recently, a video emerged in which Couch was at a party where alcohol was being consumed. Since he broke the terms of his probation, Couch ran the risk of going to jail. Rather than face the music, he and his mother fled the country.
The Domino’s Pizza Lead
For several days, the authorities searched for Couch and his mother. A lead came when one of the family’s phones showed they had ordered a Domino’s pizza in the coastal resort town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The two were immediately found in a condominium, and Couch was detained and taken to a deportation facility, where he is currently fighting to stay in Mexico. Couch’s mother was deported from the country and faces charges for hindering the apprehension of a minor, a charge which carries a sentence of 2–10 years in prison. It soon emerged that Couch and his mother had even had a “going away” party, which seems to indicate that it had all been planned.
Public Backlash
Many have criticized the judge’s original 2013 ruling, and they now take these recent events as evidence that Couch has learned nothing and needs to be punished. If Couch is found guilty of violating his probation, he will receive 120 days in jail at most.
2. Neil Stammer: Captured by Facial Recognition Software
The Elusive Fugitive
For years, many doubted that the victims of child molester Neil Stammer would ever receive justice. Unlike most criminals who tried to escape capture, Neil Stammer had a good chance of getting away with his crimes. He could speak multiple languages and was well-travelled, so he knew how to hide outside the United States. However, through the extraordinary efforts of the FBI, Stammer was caught in 2014 after 14 years on the run.
From Juggler to Criminal
Stammer was a talented juggler. As a teenager, he juggled to make ends meet and soon became world-famous for it. When he was 32, Stammer owned a magic shop in New Mexico. From there, his story took a dark turn. In 1999, authorities arrested Stammer on multiple charges, including kidnapping and child sex crimes. He posted bail but never showed up for arraignment. 2000, New Mexico issued an arrest warrant, and federal fugitive charges were later filed. When the FBI took over the case, their work was cut out for them. As mentioned, Stammer could read and speak multiple languages and was well-traveled. There were few leads, and the case went cold.
The Role of Facial Recognition
In 2014, Special Agent Russ Wilson was given the case. He focused on it because of its apparent impossibility, but through a remarkable coincidence, Stammer was found. A special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service was testing facial recognition software on visas and passports. As the agent was working, he decided to test the software on the FBI’s most wanted. To his surprise, he found a match. Stammer had a passport under a different name. The agent contacted Wilson, who discovered Stammer lived comfortably in Nepal as an English teacher. While Nepal has no extradition treaty with America, they helped with the FBI’s efforts, and Stammer was brought to justice.
1. Vincens Vuktilaj: Captured After Shutting Down New York’s Subway System
The Subway Incident
Rather than being a fugitive for several days, months, or years, Vincens Vuktilaj was on the run from police for only a few hours. During that time, he caused the Harlem subway system to shut down as he tried to evade capture. A subway shutting down in part of the most populous city in the US can inconvenience more than a few people.
The Necklace Thefts
It all began in 2013 when 18-year-old Vuktilaj was arrested for approaching two older women and stealing their necklaces. He made bail, celebrated his birthday, and was rearrested one day later. While handcuffed and shoeless, Vuktilaj managed to shove away one of the detectives, leading him to a squad car and proceeded to run to the subway and into the tunnels.
The Manhunt
Service lines in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx stopped while an army of police and dogs searched for Vuktilaj. After two hours, the trains began to operate again. For three hours, the police continued to search for the handcuffed fugitive. It became clear that Vuktilaj didn’t want to use the subway as a hiding place. Instead, it was a makeshift getaway plan to escape from the police. Using mass transit to avoid being caught might have seemed like the ultimate way to escape, but the New York police managed to block every escape, destroying any chance that Vuktilaj would get away. After five hours, authorities found him and took him into custody, where he faced further charges of resisting arrest and felony assault.
Conclusion
The tales of these fugitives and their eventual capture reveal a fascinating intersection of chance, perseverance, and innovation. From a pet goat’s keen instincts to facial recognition software’s cutting-edge capabilities, these stories highlight the relentless pursuit of justice. They serve as a reminder that while some criminals may elude capture for a time, the dedication of law enforcement and the advancement of technology ensure that justice will ultimately prevail. Each capture is a testament to the unpredictability of life and the enduring commitment to upholding the law, proving that even the most cunning fugitives cannot escape forever.
