March 14, 2010 marked the 60th anniversary of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List. From an official FBI press release:
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III today announces the FBI’s commemoration of its famous “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program, created 60 years ago.
In 1949, a reporter for the International News Service (the predecessor to United Press International) approached the FBI and asked about writing a story about the “toughest guys” being sought by the FBI at the time. The Bureau provided the names and descriptions of 10 fugitives to the reporter. The resulting feature became a major story and gained national attention. As a consequence of overwhelming public interest, on March 14, 1950, then-Director J. Edgar Hoover inaugurated the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program.
“Fun” FAQs About The List:
Are the Top Ten actually ranked? No.
Who selects the Most Wanted fugitives? All 56 FBI field offices submit their candidates for the list and eventually the FBI Director signs off on his selections.
How many women have been on the Most Wanted List? 8, beginning with Ruth Eisemann-Schier in 1968.
How many fugitives have been on the list? 494, of which, 463 have been captured. (As of October 21, 2009.)
Are there rewards offered for the capture of a Most Wanted fugitive? At a minimum, a reward of up to $100,000 is offered by the FBI for information which leads directly to the arrest of an individual on the ”Top Ten” list.
Obvious Warning: If you know or have reason to believe you may know the whereabouts of any dangerous fugitives, please immediately contact the police at 911 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324).
The most current Top Ten Most Wanted fugitives, courtesy of the FBI:
Is that Ben Stiller to the right of the word “fugitives” in the poster? Not opining on the quality of his films; just asking…
Semi-spoiler: We may do a live polygraph next week. Stay tuned.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.
As always, stay safe.
Filed under: General Information, police Tagged: | 911, crime, criminals, fbi, fugitive, police, polygraph, top ten
