FBI Database links long-haul truckers, serial killings

Atanua

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-serialkillers5-2009apr05,0,2434292.story


The growing database includes more than 500 female victims, most of whom were killed and their bodies dumped at truck stops, motels and other spots along popular trucking routes crisscrossing the U.S.

The FBI suspects that serial killers working as long-haul truckers are responsible for the slayings of hundreds of prostitutes, hitchhikers and stranded motorists whose bodies have been dumped near highways over the last three decades.

Federal authorities first made the connection about five years ago while helping police link a trucker to a string of unsolved killings along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma and several other states. After that, the FBI launched the Highway Serial Killings Initiative to track suspicious slayings and suspect truckers.
 
That map pinpointing the killings is terrifying! I had no idea.:mad:
 
Wow, very interesting! Years ago I read that one of the traits alot serial killers share is their love for driving.
 
I just ran across this story a few minutes ago, too. Fascinating.

Any chance it may be helpful in the case of the mystery couple who were found near a South Carolina Highway in 1976?

I recall the owner of the gun, used to kill the couple, was an OTR (long haul) trucker.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75977
 
Hi, and thanks for the thread ;}

We had a poster here who was positive there was a serial killer running up the freeway system on the East Coast. He had several women he thought were killed by this person.

Gosh, if only I could remember his name - no I think it was a lady. She was very knowlegable about all the roads, deaths, etc. xox
 
Hi, and thanks for the thread ;}

We had a poster here who was positive there was a serial killer running up the freeway system on the East Coast. He had several women he thought were killed by this person.

Gosh, if only I could remember his name - no I think it was a lady. She was very knowlegable about all the roads, deaths, etc. xox

Was the poster Shadowraiths?
 
In the late 70's I had a short interaction with a big rig trucker that left me wondering as to his intent.

Was driving on a busy Interstate when the car started to have trouble maintaining speed. It was a dark stretch of road so kept chugging along in the far right lane with the hopes of making it to the lighted toll area.

I did notice that a truck stayed traveling behind me, partly because it made me feel safe. Got to where I could see the lights of the toll area but the car wasn't going to make it so signaled & pulled over into the breakdown lane. The trucker, who I'm still feeling okay with, doesn't pull up behind or further up in front but rather pulls his rig in to the front diagonally blocking both the car & view of the toll.

Having had one mean arse father....instinct kicked in and I didn't even wait for the guy to exit, just ran around the back of truck and headed to the tolls yelling so to draw attention. lol

Have no idea if his intentions were wrong but when I read stories about people gone missing after their car breaks down....I think of him and how he managed to make an isolated area while in a populated one.
 
I'm glad to see that the FBI actually has a database of the murders along the major highways and I hope the local LEs will cooperate with them and submit their unsolved cases. IIRC, it was even before they arrested a guy for a string of murders of women who were last seen at an OKC truck stop, this very thing was discussed here on Websleuths and other crime blogs, ie there were most likely more than one trucker involved in serial killings.

It's too easy for these types to get away with their crime because they're so mobile. Often times the victims are found off the beaten path and there's times when a 'truck' was seen in the vicinity. The locations are easily accessible from a major through-fare.

IMO, another type that COULD be in serial killing are traveling salesman type. They're even more difficult than truckers to catch because they can be in a van, a family car, or whatever. They're not as easy to spot or remember as you would seeing a BIG truck parked along the side of the road.

There's been so many of these cases in the years I've been reading here, but there was one guy who was connected to a murder and an attempted abduction who was a 'siding' salesman throughout the eastern states. He was caught for one crime, several states away from his home location and then linked to other crimes. It's scary to think of how many unsolved cases that one person could be responsible for.

Maybe some day we'll see a Federal task force formed using this data base and reviewing murder cases from coast to coast. It's only until they look at these incidents as POSSIBLY being linked, that they may be able to solve more of them. Because I do believe they're solveable, they just have to be reviewed and investigated by someone who has NO BOUNDARIES on what they have access to and don't, as far as individual states and jurisdictions.

That's how the killer is working, NO BOUNDS.

JMHO
fran
 
Fran,

I just posted yesterday in one of the threads wondering if the killer could be a trucker. That was in response to someone wondering how the killer could kill several in one area and travel a long distance to kill several more. Maybe after more coffee I will remember which thread I posted in and direct them to your link.

I have heard before that many serial killers are truckers who kill along their route.
 
Atanua- Thanks for starting this thread. I have a feeling that this one will end up being a lively topic! We at WS have discussed long haul truckers in connection with a good many cases. I'm glad the FBI has found a solid basis for our speculation!

Capoly- Yep, you are a survivor kind of a gal. Good job staying alert and going with your gut!

Fran- You are so right about the salesman thing. I meet them at the door, holding back my big viciously barking dog ( the door blocking view of said doggie's happily wagging tail)! With an obvious look of disdain, I give them a curt " I don't care if it's free; go away and take us off your list.", door shut, blot engaged.
This confuses them mighitily, considering my porch is covered in lovely rocks painted by my children when they were young, with sayings such as "Jesus died for are (sic) sins"!

Serial killers with continential access to victims living a mobile lifestyle...runaways, travelers, prostitutes, other truckers...it's a mecca for the less calculating psychopath; looking for an easy-access victim who won't be immediately missed.

Susan
 
I am so glad this was posted. I called my Husband in from the livingroom and showed him. He started running his finger over the map naming off the number of interstate for me. (He's not a LHT :)).

O/T but we were watching AWM last night and a young girl out in CA is missing, my Husband told me that her abductor could have used the I 5...He hasn't followed the case but he's pretty astute when it comes to stuff like that.
 
We have a member or two who frequent the Trucker-boards...can't remember who.

It would be great to have a few truckers here to discuss.

I've also wondered if any serial-killers read our board but don't post. I'm sure a few wife-killers do.

Susan
 
My dad is a trucker who owns his own rig. I have no contact with him any longer but I can comment on a few things I remember from when I was a kid......

A truck stop with a sign stating 'Free Coffee for Truckers' means that prostitutes are available on premise. I don't know if this is still done as I haven't visited a truck stop in years. The large ones have rooms upstairs for this purpose. According to my mom he indulged in this behavior and came home with a case of crabs once. Showers are also available for truckers with sleeper trucks.

Drugs are quite commonly used in the industry. Bennie pills (some type of speed) were his drug of choice. He slipped on into my mom's iced tea once and she felt like she would die her heart was racing so fast. (She is a tee totaler. He is a hellion.) I would imagine stimulants like speed and cocaine are available at truck stops also.

Truckers have their favorite stops along their routes and network with other trucker friends to coincide their stops and 'visit'. Back in the days of the C B radios they would communicate to other truckers if a smoky was ahead or an accident with instructions for an alternate route if available. They look out for each other.

They are required to keep logs and if they aren't kept up a fine is issued at inspection stations. They is a limit to the number of hours allowed to be driven between breaks for safety reasons. If all this information isn't logged properly, it is assumed the trucker has been fudging in his logs and driving more hours than allowed. Many drivers do this in order to meet their deadline although it is illegal.

My dad had a partner sometimes for long runs up north over the weekend. They took turns sleeping while the other one drove. This was to insure that the trip began on Friday night and ended on Sunday. He drove from Alabama to points in the midwest, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio etc. We loved these weekends and my mom would pack up my brother and me and we'd drive to FL for a mini vacation without him knowing. teehee. He was mean and abusive to us so when he left we'd shout WOOHOO! Let's go have some fun but we had to keep it secret or it would be a knock down drag out when he found out.

It is a tough life but I think some people have driving in their veins and enjoy the camaraderie with fellow truckers. It suited my Dad perfectly because he was not a family man. My mom finally divorced him thank goodness.

I have nothing against truckers, just sharing what it was like being that truckers daughter while growing up.
 
Oh one more thing.....

I can see how it would be very easy to pick up someone at one of the large truck stops as the atmosphere is like a circus, except 18 wheelers are driving around instead of clown cars.
 
I am HORRIFIED after reading this article. Of course I had to wander off the article and research some of the cases cited - and omg, I am just absolutely and utterly horrified. BUT, I am thankful that the FBI is on it.

I live near the Ala/Fla border. Some months ago a woman in my area escaped from a truckers cab. He had captured her and had been raping her for 5 days. He stopped at either the Loxley, Ala or Wilcox Rd exit (can't remember which one - one is right after the other) anyway, he stopped for gas and she was somehow able to free herself (he had her tied up or hand-cuffed) and she was able to escape the cab, but she was NAKED! It was absolutely horrible what that poor woman went through. If she hadn't escaped, she said she knew he would killed her. Anyway, he was apprehended and is awaiting trial in Alabama.
 
That story is horrifying Gypsy! I hope they punish him to the fullest extent of the law for what he did to that poor woman! Thank God she got away!
 
Thanks for posting this. I am wondering if there is also a database about "bad cops". In my college years, my car broke down right after dark along a lonely stretch of interstate. A guardian angel in the form of a man and his young son stopped and ultimately insisted on driving me to the auto repair himself because he did not trust the attitude and demeanor of the Highway Patrolman who stopped - and he let me know in no uncertain terms. On the way there, he explained to me the alarm signals in the officer's conversation. Looking back, the words and where the officer was trying to take the conversation was very suspicious. I was a naive young 19 year old and not very assertive at the time. (That has changed!) Several months later an item in the local newspaper indicated that a CHP officer had been arrested for detaining young women along the interstates near where I went to college. I consider myself very lucky.

Just posting this so that any young girl reading takes note that especially nowadays law enforcement cannot always be trusted, and one should always be very aware and careful.
 
I wish that map was interactive. Too many of those lines appear to come close to my house, and one dot could possibly be in my county- though I don't remember any UID's being found here.

I am glad that they are beginning a database, it is about time. They have been finding remains and speculating on serial killer truckers for a long time. They have even found a few. Hopefully this will help to identify the routes they are using and help to capture them.
 

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