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FBI puts Rudolph on Most Wanted list
Sought in Alabama clinic bombing
May 5, 1998
The FBI has offered up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of Eric Rudolph
Web posted at: 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT)In this story:
- At large
- 'His mother should sell him out'
- In Atlanta?
- Bombing similarities probed
- Related stories and sites
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI on Tuesday placed Eric Rudolph on its 10 Most Wanted fugitives list, seeking him as a suspect in a deadly bombing at an Alabama women's clinic and for questioning in three Atlanta blasts, one of them also fatal. The reward for information leading to his arrest was raised from $100,000 to up to $1 million.
Statements from officials at the news conference
VXtreme streaming video (16:00)
The steps were taken in hopes of bringing more leads from the public. Anyone with information about Rudolph was asked to call a toll-free number: 1-800-575-9873.
The public's help is needed because the bomber "might kill again," said Attorney General Janet Reno, who was joined by several other law enforcement officials at a Washington news conference.
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"We have discovered some similarities in the bombings," said FBI Director Louis Freeh, indicating that the crimes may be related.
At large
Photos of Rudolph released by the FBI Rudolph, a 31-year-old carpenter from Murphy, North Carolina, has eluded capture since the January 29 bombing at the New Woman All Women Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. Abortions are performed at the clinic.
"We don't know if he's still in North Carolina," Freeh said, adding that investigators presume Rudolph is still in the United States.
Freeh noted that Rudolph is an accomplished outsdoorsman who can survive alone in the wild and "could have gotten on the Appalachian Trail and walked to Maine or Florida."
He said there was no evidence so far that Rudolph was receiving assistance from anyone.
'His mother should sell him out'
The Birmingham blast killed a security guard and badly injured Emily Lyons, a nurse and counselor at the clinic.
"For a million dollars, his mother should sell him out," she told reporters on Tuesday.
Both Lyons and her husband, Jeff, said they appreciated the extensive law enforcement effort to catch Rudolph. "With a million dollars on his head, his freedom is already gone," Jeff Lyons said.
The bomb that injured Lyons was packed with nails, including some that remain embedded inside her body. She also lost sight in one eye. "I just want to be able to be normal," said Lyons, who undergoes rehabilitation therapy and recently underwent additional surgery.
She estimated the cost of her medical treatment, so far, at about $350,000. "Every bit of it, as far as I know, has been covered by workers (compensation insurance)," Jeff Lyons said.
In Atlanta?
On March 17, the federal task force investigating the Birmingham bombing was formally merged with an older task force assigned to solve three bombings in Atlanta, including one at Centennial Olympic Park that killed a woman.
After a vigorous internal debate, officials decided to stop short of calling Rudolph a suspect in the Atlanta attacks. They do not have enough evidence to charge him in Atlanta.
The new Southeast Bombing Task Force also includes state law enforcement agencies and is working in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina on all four attacks.
1996 Centennial Park explosion Investigators have been trying to learn whether Rudolph was in Atlanta when bombs exploded:
- In July 1996 -- at Centennial Olympic Park.
- In January 1997 -- at a women's clinic where abortions are performed.
- In February 1997 -- at a nightclub with a mostly gay clientele.
Agents hypothesize that the same person or people were behind all three Atlanta attacks.
Bombing similarities probed
Rudolph is wanted in connection with the January bombing of an Alabama abortion clinic The Olympic and Atlanta clinic bombs had one-eighth-inch thick steel plates, designed to direct the blasts. These plates were long ago found to have the same general formulation of steel, said a senior agent on the case.
Some of the manufacturers who make that type of steel sold it in the Southeast, including to a metalworking plant in Franklin, North Carolina, where an associate of Rudolph worked, the agent added.
Another federal agent said lab analysis showed that one-and-a-half-inch flooring nails used in the bombs in Birmingham and at the Atlanta abortion clinic came from the same batch as nails found in a storage shed rented by Rudolph.
The batch of nails "was produced and sold in a small area," this agent said.
Similarities between some of the Atlanta bombings and the Birmingham bombing include letters signed "Army of God" claiming responsibility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CNN Community:
Special section:
Video almanac:
- Olympic Park Bombing - July 27, 1996
Related stories:
- Sources: Rudolph to join FBI's Ten Most Wanted list - April 29, 1998
- Bombing suspect's brother cuts hand off with saw - March 9, 1998
- Nurse injured in clinic bombing speaks out - March 2, 1998
- Sources: Evidence links Birmingham, Atlanta bombings - Feb. 27, 1998
- Investigators look to link Rudolph to Atlanta bombings - February 27, 1998
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