|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Aug 13, 2013 8:25:31 GMT -5
 By now I'm sure we're all familiar with the story of Wallace Thrasher, aired multiple times on AMW over the past few years but the following is a brief description I found on Unsolved Wiki: Details: Wallace Thrasher illegally made his money by trafficking illegal drugs during the Eighties, but his organization came to an end on October 17, 1984 when one of his planes crashed with its illegal cargo in the dense Virginia wilderness. When the authorities caught wind of his illegal activities, they began collecting and mounting evidence to use in putting him in prison where he belonged, but Thrasher would not wait around for that to happen. He vanished into a flight toward Central America, but the plane crashed en route. His family claims he died in the crash, but evidence suggests he's still very much alive, either somewhere in Florida or the Caribbean. Thrasher has been sighted several times since his "death" and if he is still alive, he would be 71 years old. He is 5'10", 175 pounds, blue eyes, and brown (now probably gray) hair. Extra Notes: This segment ran for the first time on February 10, 1995. That is accurate except Thrasher would now be 73 if alive. I also found a message board discussing thrasher and here is what some of the posters claimed back in 2010 after Thrasher's first airing: -AMW mentioned he was spotted in Belize in 2000 (I believe I remember that) -One poster claimed a local news story claims he still flies into Virginia to visit relatives -One poster claims he sells real estate in Miami -Perhaps the most interesting post: A man claiming to be Thrasher's son says he was double crossed by his associates in Belize and defends his dad a great guy despite his alleged criminal activites. I'm going to be honest here. Thrasher was a rare time I disagreed with AMW's airing of a fugitive as a full profile, and thought an APB or 15 seconds would have sufficed. It's not that he doesn't deserve to get caught and go to jail if still alive. You break the law and are proven to have broken the law, you deserve punishment. But I felt AMW had better things to do than try to find a guy wanted only for drug trafficking in the 70's/early 80's that was now if alive an old man and probably no longer a threat, when there were more dangerous current fugitives out there. Let alone air him multiple times when more current fugitives could have used that air time. However, with that being said, I can't help but admit Thrasher's is a fascinating story and so many theories abound. Thoughts? IMO, despite what Thrasher's son says, although it does make some sense, I think Thrasher is likely still alive and laying low in the Caribbean and possibly still Belize based on AMW's tips and what people still say about him to this day. www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=71022unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Wallace_Thrasherwww.topix.com/forum/city/bland-va/T002JQ2I4TJ7TTG2S/p3UPDATE: The case against Thrasher has now been dismissed, with officials sighting the likelihood that Thrasher is likely no longer alive. |
|
|
|
Post by pakman on Aug 13, 2013 8:54:42 GMT -5
That's interesting about Thrasher's son. If I remember correctly, AMW actually interviewed him during one of Thrasher's stories, but he seemed very neutral on the issue of his father. I think he only talked about what life was like growing up and didn't add anything of substance to the story.
I definitely remember our discussions on the old boards about why AMW felt the sudden need to go after this guy. The Belize episode was an obvious choice for a profile episode, but beyond that, I do agree about how strange it was that AMW desperately wanted to find this guy. You may recall around this time AMW also started giving Gustavo Falcon a ton of profiles as well. Also, why does Thrasher get so much publicity but similar fugitives like Gerald Hemp and Samuel Burchard are ignored? Heck, I'd argue that Hemp and Burchard are more dangerous than Thrasher; Hemp is believed to have ordered the murders of two associates and Burchard led Customs agents on an air chase in a plane. Unfortunately both seem to have been forgotten by law enforcement.
My only guess as to the renewed publicity is that maybe there were some recent sightings of him that law enforcement wasn't willing to publicize. If there's one thing I've learned, both as an AMW fan and a crime reporter in real life, it's that you never hear the whole story when it comes to criminals. The best example of this is when AMW aired the unsolved murder of Monica Valdizan back in early 2004. Everybody - including the detective - claimed they had NOTHING on the suspect. However, it turns out that wasn't true; they had his DNA underneath Monica's fingernails. This wasn't revealed until Jerry Wiggins was captured and charged in the case. Part of me suspects they were hoping the suspect saw the AMW reenactment and would start bragging that he got away with murder.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Aug 6, 2015 11:51:23 GMT -5
The case against Thrasher has now been dismissed. Officials now believe he's dead, and even if he isn't, it would be difficult to obtain witnesses to prosecute Thrasher . As a result, I guess I'll move him to the captures section with a "case dismissed" connotation. The mystery of what happened to Thrasher remains. I stress as I have in the past I don't excuse what Thrasher was accused of, but like Pakman never understood why he was highlighted more than guys like Hemp or Burchard on AMW. In any case, the case is now closed, even if the mystery is still out there. www.wdbj7.com/news/local/case-against-accused-and-infamous-virginia-drug-smuggler-wallace-thrasher-dismissed/34520020 |
|
|
|
Post by pakman on Aug 6, 2015 18:23:47 GMT -5
You know what I wonder? Maybe the Justice Department was going for one last push to find him before they dismissed the charges. AMW started profiling him five years ago (2010) so it's not impossible to imagine they were given an ultimatum to the effect of, "We'll give you five years, otherwise you have to drop the charges." I have no clue if that's what happened, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's not terribly far off.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Aug 6, 2015 18:55:41 GMT -5
That makes a lot of sense actually!
|
|
|
|
Post by carlscott on Dec 2, 2015 19:46:36 GMT -5
I have my doubts that "Squirrel" is dead. The case was dismissed based on "unspecified evidence" of Wally's death. What is the evidence of his death and why is it a secret? Why has there never been any such evidence? Talk is that one of his main accomplices (who just turned 73 yesterday, Dec 1) was wanted by the FBI and the mob at the same time; that this accomplice was helping Wally run drugs with the aid of union truck drivers and the mob wanted their cut.
Maybe Wally and his buddy are just old and tired and they rolled over to save their own necks and earn government protection;
case closed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Dec 2, 2015 20:03:33 GMT -5
Hey carlscott, welcome to the forum not a bad theory! Ironically, they played this case on a rerun of Unsolved Mysteries today. (They didn't provide an update obviously since the show's no longer in production). Yeah, the case is technically over, even if he's located alive apparently as it doesn't appear he'd be prosecuted, but there's still a lot of mystery and unanswered questions.
|
|
|
|
Post by profiler24 on Sept 6, 2017 15:01:23 GMT -5
Sorry to bump this thread but are there any new or updates regarding Thrasher? Has the FBI or any law enforcement agency tried to give another try to capture Thrasher?
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Oct 18, 2021 3:24:02 GMT -5
I found out through PACER the case against Thrasher was actually dismissed without and not with prejudice. Still going to leave this in captures/resolved section anyway since it seems they don't intend on prosecuting him even if he turns up alive one day and I have better things to do than worry about someone who would now be a senior citizen who flew planes decades ago.
|
|
