FBI Celebrates Anniversary of “Top Ten” Program
| FBI Jackson March 12, 2010 |
JACKSON—Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Daniel McMullen announced today that Sunday, March 14, 2010, marks the FBI’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program.
The “Top Ten” program is designed to publicize particularly dangerous fugitives. It is an extremely important law enforcement tool and media involvement is crucial to its success.
The Top Ten program began from a newspaper story in late 1949. A reporter for International News Service asked the FBI for the names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” the Bureau would like to capture. The story had so much 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. From the time of its inception, 494 fugitives have been placed on the Top Ten list and 463 have been apprehended or located.
Since March 14, 1950, Jackson Division has added five fugitives to the Top Ten list:
- Richard Paul Anderson, Biloxi, MS
- James Wesley Dyess, Clarke County, MS
- Edward Eugene Harper, Hernando, MS
- Nick George Montos, Parchman, MS
- Flenoy Payne, Scott, MS
Flenoy Payne was the first fugitive from Jackson Division to be placed on the list, February 2, 1955, for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution/Murder. He was captured on March 11, 1958. Edward Eugene Harper was the last fugitive from Jackson Division to be placed on the list, November 29, 2008, for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution/Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Battery, Child Fondling, Sexual Battery. He was captured on July 23, 2009. Nick George Montos is one of six individuals who were added to the Top Ten list twice, once in 1952 and again in 1956. Currently, Jackson Division has no fugitives on the Top Ten list.
“Since its beginning on March 14, 1950, the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program has been incredibly successful,” states SAC McMullen.“ Of the 494 fugitives who have appeared on that list, 94 percent have been apprehended or located. Thirty-three percent—152 criminals—were apprehended as the result of citizen cooperation. This program continues to be one of the FBI’s most valuable tools in its fight against crime and is yet another example of the positive results which can be achieved when law enforcement and the public work together.”
Information about today’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives can be found on the Internet, television, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, podcasts, cell phone applications, and digital billboards. As technology continues to advance and innovative applications surface, the FBI intends to utilize all the tools available to publicize the Top Ten fugitives and engage the public in helping to locate them. More information about the Top Ten fugitives is available on the FBI’s Internet home page at www.fbi.gov.