CNB CRIME: 65th Anniversary of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Program

In 1949, a reporter for the International News Service (the predecessor to United Press International) approached the FBI and asked about writing a story about the \”toughest guys\” being sought by the FBI at the time. The Bureau provided the names and descriptions of 10 fugitives to the reporter. The resulting feature became a major story and garnered national attention. In response to the overwhelming public interest, on March 14, 1950, then Director J. Edgar Hoover inaugurated the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program.