On Friday, Special Agent in Charge Steve Jensen, 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 Columbia field office has added three fugitives to the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. Joseph Francis Bryan, Jr. was the first fugitive from the Columbia field office to be placed on the list, April 14, 1964, for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution stemming from a kidnapping case. He was captured on April 28, 1964. Joseph Martin Luther Gardner was the last fugitive from the Columbia Field Office to be placed on the list, May 25, 1994, for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution stemming from a murder case. He was captured on Oct.19, 1994.
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.
