The FBI’s Most Elusive Criminals From the 1950s

Established in 1950 by then FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, the Most Wanted List has led to the capture of countless criminals over the years. The bureau quickly found that releasing the list to the public resulted in tips and information that assists them in finding and apprehending individuals on the run.

To compile a list of the most wanted criminals of the 1950s, 24/7 Tempo consulted the "Ten Most Wanted History Pictures," a report by the FBI. This report identifies over 500 current and former criminals who have appeared on the list and provides details of their arrests.

Since the inception of the list, tips from citizens have led to the capture of 492 of 529 listed criminals. Some from the original 1950 class were arrested before being officially listed, while others managed to evade capture.

Whether thieves, robbers, murderers or worse, these fugitives were among the most notorious criminals of their era. The list shows that, in most cases, you can't outrun the law. (Check out a list of 26 Wild West outlaws who became legends.)

After initially serving time for burglary and armed robbery, Pinson was released from prison and promptly shot and killed an Oregon police officer in 1947. This time, he was sentenced to life in prison but escaped in 1949. After evading capture following a shootout in 1950, he was finally caught after spending five months on the Most Wanted List. He was paroled in 1959.

A member of the Karpis-Barker Gang in the 1930s, Glen Roy Wright was sentenced to life in prison at Oklahoma State Penitentiary for armed robbery in 1934 after being wounded in two separate gun battles with police. He escaped from prison in 1948 but was recaptured after nine months on the Most Wanted List and died in prison in 1954.

Skilled at safecracking and holdups, Lee Emory Downs robbed a telephone company office in San Jose, California in 1948. Two years later, after spending a month on the Most Wanted List, he was arrested in a Florida trailer park with dynamite and other weapons. Following his parole in 1968, Downs was sent back to prison for attempting to rob the Colombian consulate in San Francisco.

Thomas Kling, a serial bank robber, spent two years on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List before being arrested in New York City in 1952.

Courtney Townsend Taylor, a seasoned jewel thief, was recognized by a jeweler in Mobile, Alabama, in 1951. The jeweler had seen Taylor's face on a flier and contacted the FBI and local police. Taylor, who had spent one month on the FBI's list, was quickly apprehended.

Harry H. Burton spent a year on the Most Wanted List for a 1951 murder (during which he was featured on the popular "True Detective Mysteries" radio show), but following his capture he was acquitted after a witness testified that he was actually at his dying mother's bedside during the time of the murder.