FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives by year, 1954

In 1954, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a fifth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

1954 was again a very productive year for the FBI, as the Bureau listed and then also soon caught many fugitive top ten, often with help from citizens. The Saturday Evening Post featured weekly articles about the top ten fugitives and was one of the key media outlets used by the FBI, often leading to recognition and capture of top ten fugitives.

1954 fugitives

The "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" listed by the FBI in 1954 include (in FBI list appearance sequence order):

Chester Lee Davenport

January 6, 1954 #65
One day on the list
Chester Lee Davenport - U.S. prisoner arrested January 7, 1954 while milking a cow near Dixon, California, after the local veterinarian recognized his photograph in a newspaper as being a dairy farm worker.

Alex Whitmore

January 11, 1954 #66
Four months on the list
Alex Whitmore - U.S. prisoner arrested May 10, 1954 in Seattle, Washington after a citizen recognized him from a television broadcast

Everett Lowell Krueger

January 25, 1954 #67
Three weeks on the list
Everett Lowell Krueger - U.S. prisoner arrested February 15, 1954 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and told FBI Agents: "I'm glad it's over. I'm tired of running."

Apee Hamp Chapman

February 3, 1954 #68
One week on the list
Apee Hamp Chapman - U.S. prisoner arrested February 10, 1954 in Silver Spring, Maryland after a citizen saw his photo in the February 9, 1954 issue of the Washington Afro-American magazine

Nelson Robert Duncan

February 8, 1954 #69
Two weeks on the list
Nelson Robert Duncan - U.S. prisoner arrested February 21, 1954 in Atlanta, Georgia by Atlanta patrolmen who were investigating an open skylight in a local grocery store and discovered Duncan and an accomplice attempting to burglarize the store safe

Charles Falzone

February 24, 1954 #70
Two years on the list
Charles Falzone - U.S. prisoner arrested August 17, 1955 in New Bedford, Pennsylvania by the FBI after a citizen recognized his photograph from an Identification Order in a post office

Basil Kingsley Beck

March 1, 1954 #71
Two days on the list
Basil Kingsley Beck - U.S. prisoner arrested March 3, 1954 in San Pablo, California by FBI Agents

Clarence Dye

March 8, 1954 #72
Two years on the list
Clarence Dye - U.S. prisoner arrested August 3, 1955 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by local police in a routine check, during which Dye's former girlfriend told police Dye was wanted

James William Lofton

March 16, 1954 #73
One day on the list
James William Lofton - U.S. prisoner arrested March 17, 1954 in Morgan City, Louisiana by local police and the FBI

Sterling Groom

April 2, 1954 #74
Three weeks on the list
Sterling Groom - U.S. prisoner arrested April 21, 1954 in Baltimore, Maryland by FBI after a citizen recognized him from an Identification Order in a post office

Raymond Louis Owen Menard

May 3, 1954 #75
Two days on the list
Raymond Louis Owen Menard - U.S. prisoner arrested May 5, 1954 in New Orleans, Louisiana by local police after a citizen recognized a photograph in a local newspaper

John Alfred Hopkins

May 18, 1954 #76
Three weeks on the list
John Alfred Hopkins - U.S. prisoner arrested June 7, 1954 near Beowawe, Nevada by the FBI after a citizen recognized him from a photo in a California newspaper

Otto Austin Loel

May 21, 1954 #77
Eight months on the list
Otto Austin Loel - U.S. prisoner arrested January 17, 1955 in Sanford, Florida by local police. Loel had been hiding in the Sanford city dump and living in a crude lean-to shack made of palmetto leaves

David Daniel Keegan

June 21, 1954 #78
Nine years on the list
David Daniel Keegan - PROCESS DISMISSED December 13, 1963 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Walter James Wilkinson

August 17, 1954 #79
Five months on the list
Walter James Wilkinson - U.S. prisoner arrested January 12, 1955 in Los Angeles, California by the FBI after a citizen recognized him from an Identification Order in a post office. He was working at a country club as a busboy. During the arrest, Wilkinson commented: "It didn't take too long. I know how you guys work."

John Harry Allen

September 7, 1954 #80
Three months on the list
John Harry Allen - U.S. prisoner arrested December 21, 1954 in Fort Smith, Arkansas after being recognized by two police officers from a wanted flyer

Later entries

External links

Current FBI top ten most wanted fugitives at FBI site