Today, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Carlton Peeples, marks the FBI’s commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list.

This initiative is designed to publicize particularly dangerous fugitives and enlist the public to assist the FBI in locating them. It is an extremely important law enforcement tool, and media and public involvement is crucial to its success. At a minimum, a reward of up to $250,000 is offered by the FBI for information which leads directly to the arrest of a “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive.” The “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list began from a newspaper story in late 1949. A reporter for the International News Service asked the FBI for the names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” the FBI would like to capture. The story had such widespread appeal and generated so much positive publicity that on March 14, 1950, former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover implemented the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program. Since the time of its inception, 496 have been apprehended or located.

Since March 14, 1950, the FBI Birmingham Field Office has added five fugitives to the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. David Dallas Taylor was the first fugitive from Birmingham Field Office to be placed on the list, March 3, 1953, for Murder. He was captured on May 26, 1953. Eric Robert Rudolph was the last fugitive from the FBI Birmingham Field Office to be placed on the list, May 5, 1998, for Maliciously Damaged, By Means of an Explosive Device, a Building Affecting Interstate Commerce in Which a Death Resulted. He was captured on May 31, 2003.

“The Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is a reminder of the important role our communities serve as a force multiplier to law enforcement,” said Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples, FBI Birmingham. “The FBI recognizes the need for the public to be informed and aware of these fugitives. One hundred and sixty-three of the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” apprehensions have been the result of citizen recognition of “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” publicity.”

Information about the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list can be found on the www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten; @FBIMostWanted on X, Facebook and Instagram; FBI’s YouTube page; on the FBI Wanted mobile app (available for download on Apple and Android devices); and featured on episodes of Inside the FBI Podcast series. As technology continues to advance and innovative applications surface, the FBI will continue to utilize all the tools available to publicize fugitives and engage the public in helping to locate them.