Fugitive Wanted for 1977 Escape from Chino Prison Arrested in Arkansas as a Result of Cold Case Initiative

LITTLE ROCK—Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Randall C. Coleman, in conjunction with Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) Bill L. Lewis, FBI Los Angeles Field Office, announces the following fugitive arrest in Jessieville, Arkansas:

Michael Ray Morrow, 70 years of age, was arrested Monday, September 23, 2013, in Jessieville, Arkansas (Garland County) by FBI agents with the Little Rock Field Office of the FBI and officers with the Garland County Sheriff’s Department.

Morrow was wanted by the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) following his 1977 escape from the California Institute for Men Facility in Chino, California. Morrow had been serving a sentence for armed robbery at the time of his escape. The armed robbery occurred in Long Beach, California. Investigators matched fingerprints to those of a man using the name of Carl Frank Wilson when he was arrested by the Saline County Sheriff’s Department in 1984.

The fugitive investigation was the result of collaborative effort by the FBI/Los Angeles Police Department Fugitive Task Force; Operation Manhunt, a cold case initiative involving the CDCR-Office of Correctional Safety-Special Services Unit; and the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office. The task force obtained a federal warrant charging Morrow with unlawful flight to avoid confinement (UFAC) on June 10, 2013. Morrow was apprehended September 24, 2013, without incident at a residence in Jessieville, Arkansas. Morrow remains in the Garland County Jail where he awaits extradition to California.

The FBI continues to work with local and state law enforcement to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction, interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.