Value of Dead Fugitives Halved in Eight Years

In 2000 the FBI was still paying the asking price for a fugitive as a group of hunters claimed $150,000 for finding Alan ("Monty") Pilon. Last month the going price dropped to $75,000:

The FBI is defending itself against claims it shortchanged the man who found the skeletal remains of the last of the notorious Four Corners fugitives.

Eric Bayles, a Blanding cowboy, was given a $75,000 check by federal agents on Feb. 22 for finding the remains of Jason McVean. He stumbled upon the fugitives bones in the deserts of San Juan County last year.

The wanted poster for McVean originally advertised a $150,000 reward and Bayles feels cheated.

In a statement to the Deseret Morning News, the FBI's Salt Lake City office said it has paid out approximately $225,000 in reward money for the Four Corners fugitives. A group of 11 Navajo deer hunters collected approximately $13,600 each for discovering the remains of Alan Pilon in 2000. The third fugitive, Robert Mason, killed himself after shooting a San Juan County Sheriff's deputy back in 1998.

In 2001 Unsolved Mysteries still showed $300K in the reward kitty. While I agree with the FBI that finding a dead fugitive nine years after the crime is not as valuable as finding one earlier, how much would they have paid if McVean was still alive? Coughing up the additional $75K might be a small price to pay to avoid negative publicity - or is the reward on Osama's head only half as much as the $25 Million 2001 asking price?

Originally posted in UNCoRRELATED Mar 11, 2008