Fugitive from my city caught/busted in Damascus

[mtntopper]

He wasn't just wanted for stealing money, he was wanted for murder as well.

he was not wanted for murder

[kayak karl]

No, not everyone is as you purport them to be in an apparent attempt to seek self vindication by rationalizing that everyone has been a "blatant criminal" sometime in their life. There are people who have been fine upstanding human beings all their lives and deserve far more credit than those who haven't and are now looking for confirmation.

you sound just like the prodigal son's brother

[TOW]

Well said Larry!

Has anyone heard what has become of Hopper? Did she leave the trail? Still hiking? Taken in for questioning?

I liked them both a lot, but Hopper seemed to be supported by Bismark (I could be very wrong about that, but just my sense). Just wondering how she's coping?

I am told by a reliable source that I spoke with last night that Hopper has taken this pretty hard.........

[TOW]

There are plenty of people on the AT who would pass a background search, maybe a few traffic tickets or an arrest for anti-war protesting, etc.. But in terms of ethics 90% plus of hikers are clean.

If someone wants to elude the authorities I don't think this trail is the way to go. Most of the books like How to Hide Your Assets and Disappear recommend getting outside US jurisdiction unless you want to get caught. Whitey Bulger and the Unibomber eluded authorities even in US jurisdiction. Love the movie Wronfully Accused with Leslie Nielsen....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JogttpcKFIA

I'll say 97% would pass a background check, the last 3% is iffy.........

[Turtle Feet]

I am told by a reliable source that I spoke with last night that Hopper has taken this pretty hard.........

I feel horrible about that. There is not much more painful (other than the death of a loved one) than the betrayal of a friend or loved one. It shakes you to the core. I send her my best wishes for peace of heart and mind. I wish I could give her a hug right now.

Larry - if you have the chance to speak with Hopper or could pass a message on, let her know Turtle Feet is thinking of her.

[Turtle Feet]

For anyone interested in watching the American Greed episode he was featured in:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt0...ent_shortfilms

[vamelungeon]

he was not wanted for murder

Yes, I know, and I corrected myself.

[poopsy]

Good article that sums it up in the context of the AT: http://www.sbnation.com/longform/201...trail-bismarck

[Coffee]

Why does someone need to steal $9 million if his idea of the ultimate dream retirement is to thru hike every year? That doesn't take much money.

[double d]

The guy stole from many people (most of them their retirement savings), he lied over and over to his wife and her family and to his employer. Not a guy who just made a "mistake".

[HogFan]

Why does someone need to steal $9 million if his idea of the ultimate dream retirement is to thru hike every year? That doesn't take much money.

I don't know......some sleeping bags I've recently priced has me thinking otherwise.

[Mags]

Why does someone need to steal $9 million if his idea of the ultimate dream retirement is to thru hike every year? That doesn't take much money.

Lots of zero days ?!?!?!?



Being serious, perhaps the AT was an afterthought.

The real question is in this day of social media and the attention the long trails are receiving, why such a public trail?

I guess we all need a community. And, at least for quite a while, the AT provided some anonymity.

[mak1277]

Why does someone need to steal $9 million if his idea of the ultimate dream retirement is to thru hike every year? That doesn't take much money.

Hard to say how much of the $9 million he spent before they caught up to him. From reading the long SBNation article it sounds like he was taking long diving trips even before his wife died. I admit that it would be tough to blow through $9 million, though.

[Coffee]

My guess is that the prevalence of trail names and relative anonymity coupled with his radical change of appearance provided a false sense of security. I guess I just wonder what would motivate someone with relatively simple tastes to steal that much money, but sometimes you cannot logically analyze criminal intent.

[xMagnolia]

My question is how could he abandon his daughters (legitimate & the one from the secret life he led) while happily smiling in photos with hikers their age? That just seems so hard to imagine as a parent.

[Lone Wolf]

My question is how could he abandon his daughters (legitimate & the one from the secret life he led) while happily smiling in photos with hikers their age? That just seems so hard to imagine as a parent.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...term=sociopath

[Alleghanian Orogeny]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...term=sociopath

After watching the TV show video, sociopath is exactly what came to my mind. The guy is a world-class sociopath and is a damned impressive narcissist, too.

Hiding out along the AT actually seems like it was a pretty good idea. It's called "hiding in plain sight". He obviously should have refrained from socially engaging so many people, and from having his picture taken so much, but it seems a better plan to hide along the AT than, for example, an area in the Rockies or the Southwestern deserts, where he'd more likely become known to BLM and National Forest personnel and local sheriffs. With the high relative population density of the AT and its adjacent communities, he more or less fit right in. Notice it wasn't the law enforcement community which located him, it was hikers and the AT community.

The type of embezzlement he perpetrated is actually very common. His employer violated the first chapter of "separation of duties" by giving him authority to make disbursements AND the responsibility of record-keeping for the assets. The simplest of internal controls within their accounting system would have provided for someone else to perform one of those functions, and by so doing, would made Hamme's technique impossible without collusion between the two. I'll wager "the rest of the story" is the lawsuit pending between the Pepsi bottler and their independent auditors. It's very likely a bottler of that size has to have audited financial statements prepared annually, and each year's audit includes testing of internal control systems. Absence of internal controls on this one got away from the auditors for many years. I imagine the CPA firm preparing the audits in the loss years are on the hook for the loss.

AO

[Coffee]

He fit in because of the culture of "the trail" - not the AT specifically but long trails in general where using pseudonyms is considered normal, eccentricity isn't unusual, and it is considered bad form to delve too deeply into someone's past unless they offer details first. I think that he could have "disappeared" like this on the PCT as well as on the AT. On a less crowded trail, he would have been more conspicuous.

[Malto]

I guess he was saving up for a thru-hike...gonna really do it right!

At least he didn't have for strangers to pay for his vacation on GOFUNDME. Though, we will be paying for this accommodations over the next few years.

[Mags]

I think that he could have "disappeared" like this on the PCT as well as on the AT. On a less crowded trail, he would have been more conspicuous.

I think we are zeroing in too much on the alternative trails idea too much. And missing the main point..why a well established trail that is on the radar? Just my .05 worth.

Any long trail, and the culture on it, in this day of social media, is going to stand out...at least since oh say 2010 or 2011. Add in the interest in long hikes in general as well and it is head scratcher.

There are many places in the lower 48, esp out West, where people go to get away. And people pay no mind. Eccentrics and a loner? Just another person in a small desert town who wants no questions asked. Go to Alaska or better yet, abroad? Even better. I imagine $9 million dollar can get a person out of the country AND establish a new life.

People have done it with less resources and longer.

http://www.pennlive.com/projects/201...rs-on-the-run/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ommunity.html\

and so on...

But if you insert yourself and become part of a mainly affluent, and perhaps more importantly a very plugged in and tight knit social community that is the bulk of the long distance tribe, sooner or later you are going to get noticed.

Probably better ways to go under the radar than hiking one of the most famous walking paths in the world.

Of course, we are trying to apply logic to a person who abandoned his family, stole $9 million and was on the run for six years.