Edward Eugene Harper
Encyclopedia
Edward Eugene Harper is an American former fugitive
who was wanted for sex crimes against children
. Harper was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list on November 29, 2008. After 15 years on the lam, he was captured in Wyoming
by the FBI on July 23, 2009.
to Nell Trimue Harper, a Baptist from Forrest City, Arkansas
. Edward Harper has at least three sisters, he has been married twice and has two children.
He reportedly subscribed to Sovereign Citizen Movement
ideology and claimed to be a member of the Montana Freemen
, although authorities have never been able to confirm his affiliation with the group.
Harper was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder
, a form of schizophrenia
, by a behavioral psychologist in Mississippi
shortly after his 1994 arrest. The disorder is characterized by a desire for social isolation
, social anxiety
and odd behavior. Harper is described as a survivalist
, who has indeed used to live outside of modern society, but according to FBI Special Agent Ryan Arton he "could distinguish right from wrong".
, Mississippi
. According to Arton, Harper and his then-19-year-old wife began to look after one of his alleged victims, a three-year-old girl, whose homeless
mother could not take care for her. Alleged sexual abuse began within a month. Second alleged victim was an eight-year-old girl who lived in the neighborhood. Arton said Harper threatened his wife and alleged victims with violence if they ever told anyone of the abuse.
In March 1994, after the girls told their parents about the alleged sexual abuse, police obtained a search warrant. When Harper's trailer home
was raided, he had already fled. After the raid, a highway officer in Utah
performed a routine traffic stop and pulled over Harper and his wife. When the officer ran his name, the warrant came to his attention. Harper was arrested and extradited
back to Mississippi. Harper was indicted on April 27, 1994 and released on $20,000 bond, but he failed to appear
for a court hearing and his bond was revoked. A state warrant was issued for his arrest on October 31, 1994, in DeSoto County, Mississippi
. Subsequently, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Harper by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
, after he was charged in violation of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on February 5, 1999.
and Wyoming
.
Harper's phone calls to his half-sister mentioned "cattle work", but he did not reveal his location. His mother died in 1998, and her obituary
mentioned that her son Edward E. Harper was living in Montana. Harper was believed to be in Montana, Wyoming or Arkansas
, where he has family ties.
He was placed on Oprah Winfrey
's Child Predator Watch List and was profiled on the television program America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
.
On November 29, 2008 Harper was named by the FBI
as the 491st fugitive to be placed
on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
. He replaced Michael Registe
on the list. There was a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Harper's capture being offered by the FBI. The reward will be paid to the tipster.
Harper lived a nomad
ic lifestyle, living in a truck with a camper top, moving from place to place, and earning a living by doing odd jobs and herding sheep. He would make trips to buy groceries and tobacco to the general store in Kaycee
, which was said to be the nearest town to his camp. Harper himself told the judge he had been living on and off for 15 years in the Broken Horn Creek area.
team and a hostage negotiation team to apprehend him. He was captured in Washakie County, Wyoming in the southern portion of the Big Horn Mountains
. on July 23, 2009 by FBI and Wyoming Game and Fish Department officers after nearly 15 years on the lam. Harper surrendered without an incident and admitted his identity. He had an unspecified number of handguns and rifles in his truck but was not carrying them when he was apprehended.
Harper was transported to Casper
, where he was being held at the Natrona County jail and extradited to Mississippi in September 2009. He is currently incarcerated in DeSoto county jail.
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
who was wanted for sex crimes against children
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
. Harper was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list on November 29, 2008. After 15 years on the lam, he was captured in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
by the FBI on July 23, 2009.
Early life and family
Edward Eugene Harper was born in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
to Nell Trimue Harper, a Baptist from Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The...
. Edward Harper has at least three sisters, he has been married twice and has two children.
Personal life
Harper, who had little formal education has worked as a truck driver, mechanic and a ranch worker.He reportedly subscribed to Sovereign Citizen Movement
Sovereign citizen movement
The sovereign citizen movement is a loose network of American litigants, commentators and financial scheme promoters, classified as an "extremist anti-government group" by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation....
ideology and claimed to be a member of the Montana Freemen
Montana Freemen
The Montana Freemen were a Christian Patriot movement based outside the town of Jordan, Montana. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared themselves no longer under the authority of any outside government...
, although authorities have never been able to confirm his affiliation with the group.
Harper was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder, or simply schizotypal disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, anxiety in social situations, odd behavior and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs.-Genetic:...
, a form of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, by a behavioral psychologist in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
shortly after his 1994 arrest. The disorder is characterized by a desire for social isolation
Social isolation
Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with society for members of social species. There may be many causes and individuals in numerous generally social species are isolated at times, it need not be a pathological condition. In human society, in those cases where it is viewed as a pathology,...
, social anxiety
Social anxiety
Social anxiety is anxiety about social situations, interactions with others, and being evaluated or scrutinized by other people...
and odd behavior. Harper is described as a survivalist
Survivalism
Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
, who has indeed used to live outside of modern society, but according to FBI Special Agent Ryan Arton he "could distinguish right from wrong".
Child molestation accusations
From fall of 1993 to March 1994, Harper allegedly molested two girls in HernandoHernando, Mississippi
Hernando is a city in central DeSoto County, Mississippi. The population was 6,812 at the 2000 census. The 2006 census estimate reflects a population of 10,580. Hernando is the county seat of DeSoto County, the second-most-populous county in the Memphis metropolitan area. US Hwy 51 and the I-55...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. According to Arton, Harper and his then-19-year-old wife began to look after one of his alleged victims, a three-year-old girl, whose homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
mother could not take care for her. Alleged sexual abuse began within a month. Second alleged victim was an eight-year-old girl who lived in the neighborhood. Arton said Harper threatened his wife and alleged victims with violence if they ever told anyone of the abuse.
In March 1994, after the girls told their parents about the alleged sexual abuse, police obtained a search warrant. When Harper's trailer home
Mobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
was raided, he had already fled. After the raid, a highway officer in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
performed a routine traffic stop and pulled over Harper and his wife. When the officer ran his name, the warrant came to his attention. Harper was arrested and extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
back to Mississippi. Harper was indicted on April 27, 1994 and released on $20,000 bond, but he failed to appear
Failure to appear
Failure to appear is the legal term for the failure of a defendant or respondent to appear at the stated time before a tribunal as directed in a summons. Where the conduct alleged in the summons or complaint is an infraction or summary offence, failure to appear is a crime for which a...
for a court hearing and his bond was revoked. A state warrant was issued for his arrest on October 31, 1994, in DeSoto County, Mississippi
DeSoto County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2005 estimate, there were 137,004 people, 38,792 households, and 30,102 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile . There were 40,795 housing units at an average density of 85 per square mile...
. Subsequently, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Harper by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit with facilities in Aberdeen, Ackerman, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Corinth, Greenville, and Oxford....
, after he was charged in violation of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on February 5, 1999.
Fugitive
During Harper's time on the lam, his mother received several letters from "Ed Harmon" - an alias used by Edward Harper. The letters mentioned him doing ranch work in MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
Harper's phone calls to his half-sister mentioned "cattle work", but he did not reveal his location. His mother died in 1998, and her obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
mentioned that her son Edward E. Harper was living in Montana. Harper was believed to be in Montana, Wyoming or Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, where he has family ties.
He was placed on Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's Child Predator Watch List and was profiled on the television program America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
.
On November 29, 2008 Harper was named by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
as the 491st fugitive to be placed
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 2000s
-FBI Headlines in the 2000s:The 2000s started out badly for the FBI's much needed attempts to upgrade technology. First, the Trilogy project went far over the $380 million budget, and behind its three-year schedule. Then, Virtual Case File, or VCF, planned for completion in 2003, was officially...
on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
. He replaced Michael Registe
Michael Registe
Michael Jason Registe , is an American criminal who was a fugitive wanted for his alleged participation in a 2007 execution-style double murder. FBI director Robert Mueller announced Registe's addition to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on the July 26 edition of America's Most Wanted...
on the list. There was a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Harper's capture being offered by the FBI. The reward will be paid to the tipster.
Harper lived a nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic lifestyle, living in a truck with a camper top, moving from place to place, and earning a living by doing odd jobs and herding sheep. He would make trips to buy groceries and tobacco to the general store in Kaycee
Kaycee, Wyoming
Kaycee is a town in Johnson County, Wyoming in the USA. The population was 249 at the 2000 census. It is home to a museum that preserves the cattle ranching heritage of the area, especially the history of the Johnson County War....
, which was said to be the nearest town to his camp. Harper himself told the judge he had been living on and off for 15 years in the Broken Horn Creek area.
Capture
The FBI received a telephone tip in June at the Denver office regarding Harper, and brought a SWATSWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team and a hostage negotiation team to apprehend him. He was captured in Washakie County, Wyoming in the southern portion of the Big Horn Mountains
Big Horn Mountains
The Big Horn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately 200 miles northward on the Great Plains...
. on July 23, 2009 by FBI and Wyoming Game and Fish Department officers after nearly 15 years on the lam. Harper surrendered without an incident and admitted his identity. He had an unspecified number of handguns and rifles in his truck but was not carrying them when he was apprehended.
Harper was transported to Casper
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, where he was being held at the Natrona County jail and extradited to Mississippi in September 2009. He is currently incarcerated in DeSoto county jail.