The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was created in 1950 after a reporter asked the Bureau which criminals they most wanted to capture, inspiring Director J. Edgar Hoover to formalize a national “most wanted” roster. Designed to enlist the public’s help, the list highlighted fugitives considered particularly dangerous or difficult to apprehend. Early posters circulated in newspapers, post offices, and later on television dramatically increased public awareness, leading to many arrests. Over the decades, the list has evolved to include terrorists, serial offenders, and major violent criminals, with digital media expanding its reach worldwide. Today, the Ten Most Wanted list remains one of the FBI’s most recognizable tools for public assistance in capturing high-priority fugitives.
24/7 Tempo reviewed FBI data on over 500 current and former listees to identify the FBI’s most wanted fugitives of the 1960s. We defined “most wanted” as those on the list the longest without being caught. The FBI sometimes removes criminals without arrest, like if charges are dropped, they’re deemed no longer a high danger, or they died. John Gibson Dillon was removed after being found dead at the bottom of a well, wired to 400 pounds of drilling gear, ending his three years on the list.
Here are the FBI’s most wanted fugitives of the 1960s:
Harry Robert Grove, Jr.
- Added to the list: Feb. 19, 1962
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Robbery, bail-jumping
- Arrested or removed from list: Jan. 26, 1963 (arrested)
William Terry Nichols
- Added to the list: April 6, 1961
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Armed robbery, jailbreak
- Arrested or removed from list: April 30, 1962 (arrested)
Howard Jay Barnard
- Added to the list: April 12, 1963
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Robbery
- Arrested or removed from list: April 6, 1964 (arrested)
Alfred Oponowicz
- Added to the list: Nov. 27, 1963
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Armed robbery, safecracking
- Arrested or removed from list: Dec. 23, 1964 (arrested)
Donald Stewart Heien
- Added to the list: March 8, 1965
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Escape from prison (while serving time for murder)
- Arrested or removed from list: Feb. 3, 1966 (arrested)
Edward Owen Watkins
- Added to the list: Sept. 21, 1965
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Bank robbery
- Arrested or removed from list: Dec. 2, 1966 (arrested)
Lynwood Irwin Mears
- Added to the list: April 11, 1966
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Breaking and entering, jailbreak
- Arrested or removed from list: May 2, 1967 (arrested)
Monroe Hickson
- Added to the list: Feb. 17, 1967
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Murder
- Arrested or removed from list: Jan. 30, 1968 (removed)
Carmen Raymond Gagliardi
- Added to the list: June 9, 1967
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Murder
- Arrested or removed from list: Dec. 23, 1968 (arrested)
George Edward Wells
- Added to the list: March 28, 1968
- Years on the list: 1
- Charged with: Armed robbery, interstate flight
- Arrested or removed from list: May 27, 1969 (arrested)
Harold Thomas O’Brien
- Added to the list: Jan. 4, 1963
- Years on the list: 2
- Charged with: Murder, interstate flight
- Arrested or removed from list: Jan. 14, 1965 (removed)
Marie Dean Arrington
- Added to the list: May 29, 1969
- Years on the list: 2
- Charged with: Murder, jailbreak
- Arrested or removed from list: Dec. 22, 1971 (arrested)
Gordon Dale Ervin
- Added to the list: April 13, 1967
- Years on the list: 2
- Charged with: Robbery
- Arrested or removed from list: June 7, 1969 (arrested)
Warren David Reddock
- Added to the list: March 11, 1969
- Years on the list: 2
- Charged with: Murder
- Arrested or removed from list: April 14, 1971 (arrested)
John B. Everhart
- Added to the list: Nov. 22, 1960
- Years on the list: 3
- Charged with: Murder, jailbreak
- Arrested or removed from list: Nov. 6, 1963 (arrested)
John Gibson Dillon
- Added to the list: Sept. 1, 1961
- Years on the list: 3
- Charged with: Drug trafficking, bail-jumping
- Arrested or removed from list: March 2, 1964 (removed)
Chester Collins
- Added to the list: May 14, 1964
- Years on the list: 3
- Charged with: Escape from prison (while serving time for assault with a hatchet on a woman)
- Arrested or removed from list: March 30, 1967 (removed with federal process dismissed)
Alson Thomas Wahrlich
- Added to the list: July 9, 1964
- Years on the list: 3
- Charged with: Kidnapping, molestation, interstate flight
- Arrested or removed from list: Oct. 28, 1967 (arrested)
Taylor Morris Teaford
- Added to the list: May 10, 1968
- Years on the list: 4
- Charged with: Rape, murder
- Arrested or removed from list: Removed May 24, 1972; he wasn’t arrested; “federal process dismissed.”
Byron James Rice
- Added to the list: July 5, 1968
- Years on the list: 4
- Charged with: Murder, arson
- Arrested or removed from list: Oct. 2, 1972 (arrested)
Donald Leroy Payne
- Added to the list: Oct. 6, 1960
- Years on the list: 5
- Charged with: Rape, assault
- Arrested or removed from list: Nov. 26, 1965 (removed)
Edward Howard Maps
- Added to the list: June 15, 1962
- Years on the list: 5
- Charged with: Murder, arson
- Arrested or removed from list: Dec. 1, 1967 (removed)
Cameron David Bishop
- Added to the list: April 15, 1969
- Years on the list: 6
- Charged with: Sabotage
- Arrested or removed from list: March 12, 1975 (arrested)
John William Clouser
- Added to the list: Jan. 7, 1965
- Years on the list: 7
- Charged with: Kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault
- Arrested or removed from list: Aug. 1, 1972 (removed)
Benjamin Hoskins Paddock
- Added to the list: June 10, 1969
- Years on the list: 8
- Charged with: Bank robbery, jailbreak
- Arrested or removed from list: May 5, 1977 (removed)
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Courtesy of FBI.