More than 40 years ago, one of the most notorious prisoner escapes in Ohio history occurred. Lester Eubanks, convicted of murdering 14-year old Mary Ellen Deener of Mansfield, walked away from his handlers while serving out his life sentence.
On December 7, 1973, prison officials took Eubanks to a shopping center in Columbus, and allowed him to shop unescorted as a reward for good behavior. When Eubanks failed to return to his scheduled pick up location, he was reported as an escapee, and has eluded authorities ever since.
“I think about this case every day and the little girl who was killed,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal David Siler, who has worked the case since January 2016 when it was adopted by the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force cold case unit. “In law enforcement, there are cases that keep you up at night; this is one of those cases.”
The Marshals believe Eubanks is alive and living under an alias. Over the years, investigative leads placed the long-time fugitive in Michigan and California, but his whereabouts remain a mystery.
“Lester Eubanks has had a lot of time on the lam,” said Siler. “Fugitives on the run as long as Eubanks tend to use that time to change their appearance, use aliases, and even start new lives. He literally could be hiding in plain sight. This is why we are asking citizens to be vigilant and contact us with any information they believe will help us apprehend him.”
Now a new podcast, Have You Seen This Man?, is telling the story of the search for Eubanks, which is still active today. The series is hosted by Sonny Hostin, a co-host of the daytime talk show “The View” and a Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News. The podcast will follow the U.S. Marshals service as one of their star investigators focuses on catching Eubanks. Additionally, the ABC News Investigative Unit helps uncovering leads and possible sightings of Eubanks.
The podcast will begin releasing the episode on October 23, and those interested in listening should expect to find it on all popular podcasting platforms.
A trailer for the podcast can be listened to here.
