One of the most wanted fugitives in the U.S. is being sought in Southern California after escaping from an Ohio prison in 1973, authorities confirmed Saturday.
A jury convicted Lester Eubanks of murdering Mary Ellen Deener, 14, in 1966, a year after she was slain. He received the death sentence, but in 1972 it was commuted to life in prison.
Authorities granted him an “honor furlough” to accompany other inmates on a Christmas shopping trip in December 1973, but he failed to appear at the designated pickup spot.
Eubanks, a fugitive ever since, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, is on the agency’s list of its 15 most wanted fugitives.
Eubanks, age 75 in the fall of 2020, was described as a 5-foot-11-inch male with black hair and brown eyes. At the time of his disappearance, he weighed approximately 175 pounds.
Other unique physical characteristics include a mole under his left eye and a large scar on his upper right arm.
He also may be using the alias Victor Young.
After recently obtaining photographs that allegedly show Eubanks working and socializing in Los Angeles County – including a former waterbed factory in Gardena – the Marshals Service began focusing their investigation there.
Eubanks might have lived in Gardena, South Los Angeles, Long Beach and North Hollywood at various points, Deputy U.S. Marshal David Siler told news station ABC7.
Officials also believe he worked as a janitor at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood in the late 1980s or early ’90s, Siler told the station.
“We believe that he may have never left the Greater Los Angeles area,” Siler said.
“We know that he has a footprint there, we know that he has associates throughout the area, we just need to talk to those people.”
Officials said the new photographs were among the rush of tips that came in after ABC News ran a segment on the case for the podcast, “Have You Seen This Man.”
An official with the Marshals Service confirmed to City News Service Saturday that Eubanks was being sought in the Los Angeles area.
A $50,000 reward is available for information that directly leads to Eubanks’ arrest.
Anyone with information about the case can contact the U.S. Marshal’s Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or submit tips online.
They also may contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-492-6833.
