ON THE RUN
Where is Lester Eubanks now and how did he escape prison?
OHIO inmate Lester Eubanks has been on the run since 1975 after being convicted of murdering a 14-year-old girl.
Eubanks was allowed to go on a shopping trip due to good behavior and never returned.
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Where is Lester Eubanks?
Lester Eubanks, 76, has been hiding from the FBI since he ran away from prison guards at a shopping mall in 1973.
He is on the FBI’s most wanted list and is considered to be a highly dangerous individual.
Eubanks, who was born on October 31, 1943, is approaching his 77th birthday.
He has been on the run for 47 years.
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What did Lester Eubanks do?
Eubanks brutally murdered teenager Mary Ellen Deener from Mansfield, , as she was helping her mother with chores and decided to stop by a laundromat to get change.
He spotted Deener walking and pulled her behind a house while yanking her skirt up and trying to remove her underwear.
Deener put up a fight when Lester pulled out a .38 revolver, firing the gun and shooting her twice in the stomach.
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He then fled the scene but came back 20 minutes later to check on Deener, realizing that she was still breathing.
Eubanks picked up a nearby brick and struck her, shattering her skull.
Her body was left in an alley until police discovered it two hours later and notified the family.
Deener was still lifelessly holding on to the coins she had gotten from the laundromat to take home.
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Was Lester Eubanks arrested?
Eubanks confessed to the crime after he was arrested the following day while enjoying a church breakfast with the pastor.
He was found guilty and scheduled to be executed three different times.
However, in 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional so his sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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How did Lester Eubanks escape prison?
Due to his good behavior, on December 7, 1973, Eubanks was granted furlough along with three inmates to go Christmas shopping.
Two guards dropped them off at a Columbus shopping mall at 10am and planned to pick them up four hours later.
When the time came to pick them up, Eubanks was already gone.
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Where is Lester Eubanks?
Deputy US Marshal David Siler believes that Eubanks was picked up by a close friend and driven to Michigan and then hopped on a bus to California.
They also believed that Eubanks had a lover in north Hollywood while identifying himself as Victor Young in oil paintings he was working on.
Authorities received thousands of tips after Eubank’s story went live on America’s Most Wanted TV show.
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To no avail, the US Marshals placed him on the top 15 most wanted list in 2018.
The case gained more national exposure and they offered a $25,000 reward to find him.
Siler told : "We're looking for that one piece of the puzzle that closes this case - and it might be just outside of Detroit.
"It could be in an oil painting."
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MORE UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
When is Unsolved Mysteries airing?
will be released on Monday, October 19, on .
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The show’s second volume will feature six new episodes.
The first six episodes of Unsolved Mysteries are available to stream on Netflix too.
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