In 1965, 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener, a bright, quiet teenager who hoped to become a nun, was headed to a laundromat in Mansfield, Ohio when she ran into Lester Eubanks. Eubanks, 22 and with a history of sexual offenses, tried to rape Deener, then shot her twice and hit her in the head with a brick. He was caught, confessed to the murder, and went to prison.
But that is just the beginning of the new story.
On December 7, 1972, Eubanks, was taken on a furlough with a group of other prisoners to an Ohio mall to do some Christmas shopping. While the rest of the group met up with the guard at the appointed time, Eubanks was a no show. He has not been seen since.
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A new crime podcast from ABC Audio aims to track down this convicted killer after 45 years on the run. "Have You Seen This Man?," hosted by The View's Sunny Hostin embeds with the US Marshalls as they track the fugitive, who they believe has been living in plain sight for decades.
Exploring issues of crime, rehabilitation, and social justice, "Have You Seen This Man?" is a shocking story about an egregious oversight and the quest to finally make it right.
"Lester Eubanks is a predator and has been accused of multiple rapes. Criminals like this don’t stop offending," Hostin told Refinery29. "In my view, one of the reasons that Lester Eubanks has been a fugitive for so long is because rape and sexual assault remain the least reported crimes in our criminal justice system and if he has assaulted other people, it’s possible they haven’t come forward."
The first two episodes of “Have You Seen This Man?” will be available for free beginning Wednesday, October 23 on all podcast platforms with new episodes posting every Wednesday.