Still At Large: Lester Eubanks
U.S. Marshals ServiceLester Eubanks escaped from prison in 1973 and remains at large.
In terms of prison escapes, Lester Eubanks followed in the footsteps of Leonard Ray Moses and used an authorized furlough to vanish. But their crimes are very different. In 1965, Eubanks raped and murdered a 14-year old girl named Mary Ellen Deener.
With a litany of sexual assaults under his belt, Eubanks encountered Deener in an alley. The Mansfield, Ohio, girl had merely run out of change while doing laundry when she departed the laundromat and ran into her killer. Deener tried to fight him off, but Eubanks ultimately shot her twice as well as bludgeoned her with a brick.
The crime saw Eubanks convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death on May 25, 1966. A model citizen during his first seven years in prison, Eubanks was granted a holiday season furlough to shop at Ohio’s Great Southern Shopping Center on Dec. 7, 1973 — then he disappeared into the night.
U.S. Marshals ServiceA digital composite estimating what Lester Eubanks might look like today.
Although the Ohio Department of Corrections immediately listed him as a fugitive, federal authorities only began their search for Eubanks in earnest in the 1990s. It gained steam when Deputy U.S. Marshal David Siler picked up the case in 2016. He suspected Eubanks lived under the alias of Victor Young.
“Fugitives on the run as long as Eubanks tend to use that time to change their appearance, use aliases, and even start new lives,” said Siler.
“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.”
Promising leads about Eubanks have appeared over the years. “Victor Young” seemed to have lived in Los Angeles between 1975 and 1996 and worked many jobs, including hospital janitor and waterbed factory employee.
Ultimately, Lester Eubanks has never been caught. If alive, he is now in his 70s.
