On a cold day in December of 1973, a then 30-year-old male by the name of Lester Eubanks vanished while on a temporary furlough for Christmas shopping in Columbus, Ohio, and has not been seen by authorities since. Eubanks was an inmate at the Ohio State Penitentiary, serving a life sentence for the 1965 murder of a 14-year-old girl named Mary Ellen Deener. His initial death sentence had been commuted to life in prison in 1972 when the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Due to what was considered good behavior, Eubanks was permitted to join a group of inmates on an unsupervised Christmas shopping trip to a local mall on December 7, 1973. He and three other inmates were dropped off at the Great Southern Shopping Mall and instructed to return at a designated time. While the other inmates returned as scheduled, Eubanks failed to appear, initiating a manhunt that has now spanned over five decades.
The investigation into Eubanks's disappearance suggests that his escape was likely premeditated. In the weeks leading up to the shopping trip, Eubanks had an unusual increase in visitors, leading authorities to believe he may have had assistance in planning his escape. After fleeing the mall, it is believed he traveled to Michigan and then made his way to Los Angeles, California. For a period, he lived in Los Angeles under the alias Victor Young and had a girlfriend. There have been several reported sightings of him over the years in various states, including California, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, but none have been confirmed. It is believed he may have worked as a janitor at a medical center in Lynwood, California, in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The U.S. Marshals Service took over the case in 2016 and has been actively pursuing leads across the country and internationally.
The search for Lester Eubanks remains an active and high-priority case for the U.S. Marshals Service, who added him to their 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list and are offering a significant reward for information leading to his capture. Law enforcement agencies have utilized various methods in their long search, including creating age-progressed photos to show what he might look like today and, more recently, obtaining DNA evidence. Despite the passage of many years, authorities remain hopeful that he will be found and brought to justice, providing some measure of closure for the family of his victim. The case stands as a stark reminder of a violent crime and a subsequent escape that has left a lasting impact, with law enforcement officials emphasizing that they will not give up the search until he is located.Last Seen: Dec 7, 1973
