The "America's Most Wanted" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished reading an interesting story in Lancaster's Sunday News titled "Still Missing". About people who have been missing for a short time as well as those who have been missing for years. Hundreds of adults are reported missing every day in the USA, but most all are located in short order. Some people disappear on purpose. Some flee money problems or an abusive spouse. Some suffer with mental health problems. Some just may want to start over and disappear with a new identity in an new location. Some actually fake abductions. One woman from Lancaster County, missing for two years, is perhaps missing because of foul play, but her close friends believe she is still alive. After she was reported missing, the police quickly located her, but she never appeared back in Lancaster. The police believe it is "personal". A private investigator was hired, "pro bono" and has reported that she has received more than 100 calls from people who claim to have seen the woman in this vicinity and the area around where she was last reportedly seen. The investigator believes that the woman, who has bipolar disorder, is now hooked on drugs and has become part of a human trafficking operation. The police still keep the case open. Then, I started reading a companion article about a Lorrie John Trites and it hit me all of a sudden! Wow, that's the guy who in 1998, while coaching several swimming teams, videotaped young girls in the Franklin and Marshall College locker room. He was caught, denied he did it, but fled the area. Guy was 6'7" and weighed 300 pounds. Can't be hard to find someone like that! Was sighted in Florida and immediately was put on the FBI's most wanted list for unlawful flight across state lines. Right before he fled he withdrew a large amount of money from his bank account and grabbed his passport. Left everything else behind including his wife, his car, credit cards, lap-top computer, and his home at 41............. Wait a minute! That's my son's address. Then I started to remember the case a little better. The wife decided to sell the house and sold it to someone who "flipped" houses. He upgraded the house and put it back on the market. My cousin Sue, who is a real estate agent, showed the house to my oldest son, who eventually bought it. We talked and he eventually searched the house thoroughly from attic to basement to see if Trites had left any tapes behind. Guess the police and "flipper" had done that already, since he couldn't locate any. Over 10 years has passed and Lorrie John Trites has never been found and is still featured occasionally on America's Most Wanted. If you see the guy pictured here, call the local police or the FBI and help catch one of Lancaster County's most famous criminals. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.