Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 31
FBI Releases 67-Year-Old Fugitive Images in 1983 Boulder Murder, Offers $10,000 Reward
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 31

FBI Releases 67-Year-Old Fugitive Images in 1983 Boulder Murder, Offers $10,000 Reward

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 31

Summary

  • New age-progression images show what Thayne Alan Smika may look like at 67 as the FBI seeks fresh tips in the 1983 shooting death of University of Colorado Boulder student Sidney Lee Wells.
  • Wells, 22, was found shot in the head in his Boulder apartment on Aug. 1, 1983; Smika, then Wells' former roommate, was identified early but was not charged at the time.
  • A Boulder County judge issued a first-degree murder warrant in 2010, and federal authorities soon added an unlawful-flight charge after Smika had already spent decades evading arrest.
  • Investigators say Smika may be clean-shaven or wear facial hair and glasses, lacks a valid U.S. passport, and may have lived in Yelapa, Mexico, for years before 2007.

Insights

What secret clue prompted the FBI to release new images for a 1983 cold case after all this time?
How has a bilingual fugitive known as 'Jungle Mike' vanished without a trace for over forty years?
Why did it take 27 years to charge the roommate of a man dating Robert Redford's daughter with murder?