Most wanted fugitive who escaped in 1973 is now wanted in the Los Angeles area

Authorities say they are now getting closer to one of the most wanted fugitives in the United States after his escape from an Ohio prison in 1973.

Lester Eubanks, 77, is believed to be in the Los Angeles area, a US Marshals Service official said on Saturday. His case received renewed attention when it was the subject of a recent episode of the real crime documentary series “Unsolved Mysteries,” which was released on Netflix in October.

Eubanks was convicted of the 1965 murder and attempted rape of 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener. He was sentenced to death, but in 1972 his sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole.

But in December 1973, while on temporary leave to do Christmas shopping, Eubanks moved away from custody of the Ohio Corrections Department, according to the US Marshals Service.

Eubanks is on the US Marshals 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities are offering $ 50,000 for information that directly leads to his arrest. Officials said he may have been using the pseudonym Victor Young to hide his identity.

Investigators limited their search to the Los Angeles area after examining recently obtained photographs that allegedly show Eubanks working and socializing with people in Los Angeles County, including a former waterbed factory in Gardena, reports NBC Los Angeles.

On several occasions, authorities suspect that he may have lived in Gardena, south of Los Angeles, Long Beach and north of Hollywood.

U.S. Deputy Marshal David Siler said officials also believed Eubanks worked as a janitor at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood in the late 1980s or early 1990s, according to NBC Los Angeles.

“We think he may never have left the Greater Los Angeles area,” Siler said. “We know he has a footprint there, we know he has associates all over the region, we just need to talk to these people.