AZ AZ - Robert William "Bobby" Fisher, Scottsdale, Apr 2001 *FBI Ten Most Wanted*

[Trino]

They do start over.

Cleveland, OH, 1969
Theodore 'Ted' Conrad. Tom Randele (new name). Bank vault teller bank robber.
$215, 000. Equivalemt to $1.7 million today. New life in MA. 52 years. Never found. Dying of cancer, told daughter. Got away with it.

Remember well the robbery. Big news.

 

[QuocLikesGuac]

Actually, most family annihilator's commit suicide or attempt suicide after their crimes.

Not saying that's the case here, though I believe it is. His chronic back pain and rumored dependency on narcotic pain meds probably would have brought him out of hiding if he were alive.

Good point. I think I recall reading about high-functioning opioid addiction as well. That, too, would make living on the run difficult.

As far as other notions Robert Fisher started a new life, I think it's easy to get caught up in quixotic depictions in film (e.g., character with ready passport/envelope of money in a safety box, becoming a "Jason Bourne" at the drop of a hat), but real life is a lot more complex. A prolific fugitive requires stoic adaptability and resources, not to mention planning and time (which Fisher didn't have). While switching vehicles in the middle of the wilderness would have been an expert strategy, Fisher was hundreds of miles away from an airport or border (and after leaving Scottsdale, even farther away from Mexico). Also, what vehicle? Did he have one hidden underground with a fake name on the registration? Did someone (friend, old Navy buddy) pick him up after ditching the RAV4? Why? What was in it for them? Why wasn't the person(s) not disturbed/curious when local news reported on the murder of his family? And assuming seasoned law enforcement questioned every Fisher family acquaintance - how would the theorized "accomplice(s)" bypass questioning or fall under the radar?

Finally, speculating Fisher ended up beyond the border (and found a cheap doctor/clinic to feed his addiction) wouldn't a much-publicized $100k bounty be a better windfall than whatever he was paying them?

My case rests for now.

 

[spartanx]

Good point. I think I recall reading about high-functioning opioid addiction as well. That, too, would make living on the run difficult.

As far as other notions Robert Fisher started a new life, I think it's easy to get caught up in quixotic depictions in film (e.g., character with ready passport/envelope of money in a safety box, becoming a "Jason Bourne" at the drop of a hat), but real life is a lot more complex. A prolific fugitive requires stoic adaptability and resources, not to mention planning and time (which Fisher didn't have). While switching vehicles in the middle of the wilderness would have been an expert strategy, Fisher was hundreds of miles away from an airport or border (and after leaving Scottsdale, even farther away from Mexico). Also, what vehicle? Did he have one hidden underground with a fake name on the registration? Did someone (friend, old Navy buddy) pick him up after ditching the RAV4? Why? What was in it for them? Why wasn't the person(s) not disturbed/curious when local news reported on the murder of his family? And assuming seasoned law enforcement questioned every Fisher family acquaintance - how would the theorized "accomplice(s)" bypass questioning or fall under the radar?

Finally, speculating Fisher ended up beyond the border (and found a cheap doctor/clinic to feed his addiction) wouldn't a much-publicized $100k bounty be a better windfall than whatever he was paying them?

My case rests for now.

is that you see him as a normal person ... for one of us it would be something serious to kill the family, to feel rotten for having done something like that ... but this bastard is not normal ... he is really crazy ... and he would do anything to escape ... obviously it is strange that after more than 20 years nothing is known about him ... but this guy had resources and not because it was not known that there was money in his bank account, he could have taken it out before or got a loan or with a friend and the friend to avoid getting into trouble kept silent ... I really don't think he is in the United States and more if he has already left the 10 most wanted ... I imagine that he is missing several teeth, he is thin and addicted to some drug like marijuana ... he must not miss his family either.

 

[QuocLikesGuac]

They do start over.

Cleveland, OH, 1969
Theodore 'Ted' Conrad. Tom Randele (new name). Bank vault teller bank robber.
$215, 000. Equivalemt to $1.7 million today. New life in MA. 52 years. Never found. Dying of cancer, told daughter. Got away with it.

Remember well the robbery. Big news.

In this instance, yes. But likely because Mr. Conrad had 215,000 reasons for his successful incognito escape. The fugitive economy, like the traditional market, allows no free lunch, and another advantage for the bank embezzler was that his crimes lacked the public morbidity of RWF's. If it came down to the lesser of two evils, most would probably prefer being neighbors with a high-rolling financial criminal over a fiery perpetrator of familicide (which explains why swindlers aren't spoken with the same derision, unless the act(s) involved exploitation of the vulnerable, or murder).

Fisher, who was presumably lower-middle class, would have had nothing of value to offer to an underground absconder network (if he even had access to one) or friends. In fact, it was said the Fishers were going through financial problems. The $280 he withdrew from an ATM in 2001 was enough for a tank of gas and snacks - probably what it was used for on the road after the crime. And once again, there's the time factor. We have to suspend disbelief that a man with few/no connections could procure a successful disappearance with a faithful acquaintance/family member who was an expert at complimentary fugitive aid, even as APBs and broadcast news let the cat out of the bag.

"We don't know him! He's tricky! He's arrogant!" conveys nil. Arrogance and intelligence are not synonyms, and committing an ugly and impulsive atrocity nary forethought pivots closer to ignorance. Fisher was pretty much a doomed man the moment he did the deed - and supercilious or not, that was one truth he couldn't escape from.