FBI database links long-haul truckers, serial killings

[Are_grits_groceries]

Red dots on the map above supplied by the FBI mark the locations of hundreds of bodies and human remains discovered along highways over the past three decades.

The FBI suspects that serial killers working as long-haul truckers are responsible for the slayings of hundreds of prostitutes, hitchhikers and stranded motorists whose bodies have been dumped near highways over the last three decades.

Federal authorities first made the connection about five years ago while helping police link a trucker to a string of unsolved killings along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma and several other states. After that, the FBI launched the Highway Serial Killings Initiative to track suspicious slayings and suspect truckers.

A computer database maintained by the FBI has grown to include information on more than 500 female crime victims, most of whom were killed and their bodies discarded at truck stops, motels and other locations along popular trucking routes crisscrossing the U.S.

The database also has information on scores of truckers who've been charged with killings or rapes committed near highways or who are suspects in such crimes, officials said. Authorities said they do not have statistics on whether driving trucks ranks high on the list of occupations of known serial killers.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-serialkillers5-2009apr05,0,2434292.story

Okay. Now I feel like traveling.

[pleah]

1. This brought to mind the movie Suspect Zero.n/t

[Mari333]

3. ack it reminds me of the film DUEL

that film scared the shit out of me.

[Adelante]

9. Yes

I don't get scared watching regular horror films. "Duel" was truly scary.

[Mari333]

10. less is more

I dont watch scary films either, they are over the top and stupid and make me laugh. but Duel was subtle. you never saw the driver. you felt Dennis Weaver's fear as he tried to get away. it was timed perfectly.

[madaboutharry]

2. This aritcle is deeply disturbing on

so many levels.

[hlthe2b]

7. Truckers had a very trustworthy, responsible rep growing up...

You rarely saw them drive irresponsibly and so aggressively towards drivers of passenger cars as I very often do, now. Decades ago, my parents would never have thought twice about asking them for help with a disabled car on the side of the road--even my mother.

I know there are some great people driving big trucks across the country. I was always interested to hear them call into progressive radio talk shows the past few years. But, like in other aspects of life, they also have some very creepy folks engaging in the profession. I can't say the serial killer link surprises me. Certainly horrifies me.

[Deja Q]

8. It's sad, but it's another example of how society has devolved.

[cali]

4. This makes intuitive sense

what better a job for a serial killer?

[Deja Q]

6. "what better a job for a serial killer?"

Politician. Maybe CEO.

:evilgrin:

[rucky]

11. Governor of Texas. n/t

[Mari333]

12. LOL

[Deja Q]

5. "Convoy" is no longer my favorite song.

:scared: :cry: :scared:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1t6zQsjzYE

A better version here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQJNnkXSzws

[Mari333]

13. LOL yes, it doesnt conjure up the same images as before nt

[H2O Man]

14. In the early 1990s,

I remember a case of a trucker who killed a woman from Binghamton, NY; she was heading towards Albany on I-88, had car trouble, and he stopped to offer "help." My uncle tracked him to Ohio the following day, and the arrest made the national news.

I also am aware of the fact that far more truckers are a resource for police agencies searching for missing people. A large number of truckers take their ability to see lots of vehicles on the road, and people at rest stops, seriously.

[WI_DEM]

15. When I was growing up my family would take cross country auto trips and my mom always said

how it was a good thing to drive hehind a trucker because they know the roads & if you needed help they are always willing to help stranded automobiles! This may be on the whole true, but it's a good thing (I guess) that we never got to test that.

[Are_grits_groceries]

16. CSI had an episode

about a trucker with a refrigerated truck who was doing unspeakable things. A lot of crime show scripts come from the real world.:scared:

[sarcasmo]

17. Self Delte.

[lonestarnot]

18. Wonder why it took that many "red dots" to implement this method of investigation?

Oh I know, poor women hookers. Not worth anything to anybody. :sarcasm:

[myrna minx]

19. I was helped immensely by a trucker who rescued me in the middle of the night

when my alternator gave out on a two lane highway in Central Wisconsin. In 1990, when I was 19, I was on my way to Stevens Point Wi to pick up my friend for us to go home for Thanksgiving.

Around midnight the power went out in my car just as I rolled up (thank goodness) to a filling station. The station was about to close for the night and the phone number I had for my friend wasn't correct, so I was stranded with my cat, in the cold. There was a trucker, who was having a jovial chat with the gal behind the counter, who offered to give me a ride into town (it was about a half hour away). The gal behind the counter vouched for his integrity, so I accepted his offer. I was frightened, because I was taking the word of one stranger about the character of another stranger, but what was I to do? This was before cell phones and no one knew where I was, so was I to test my fate by staying in my powerless, heatless car alone for the rest of the night?

On the short ride into town, the man told me about the daughter he had that was my age, and that he would be horrified if she accepted an offer like I had just done, but he understood my predicament. He was a very kind gentleman and he dropped me off in front of my friend's house (my friend was stunned to see a big rig pull up and drop me and my cat off), but the man advised me of taking better precautions before I traveled, like having your car checked out beforehand, verifying phone numbers etc and to never accept a ride from anyone else. Ever. I am forever grateful to him and I have always heeded his sobering advice.

[Blue Diadem]

20. Having worked at a truckstop/ travel plaza restaurant, it doesn't surprise me.

There was one guy, who used to come through on, IIRC, Sunday nights, an older trucker, grandfather, clean decent looking man claimed to be a retired cop. Scared the hell out of me when I overheard him saying what he'd do to any lot lizzard if one ever attempted to open his door. We had some that were out of control at times, I had my fair share of calming them down. In one instance, I was called every name in the book and told how ugly I was by one guy(in front of the entire fully seated restaurant), all because I had no portable phone left for him to use and the phones at the booths were all busy. I heard more than a few talk about running over 4 wheelers who got in their way, meaning passenger cars.

I worked there for about a year in the mid 90's. It was pretty rough at times. Gave me a new view.

When I was a kid, we traveled a lot. My parents always stopped at truckstops to eat and used to tell us that a truckdriver was always someone you could count on to help if you broke down. I think that may still be true for the most part, but how in the world can you tell?

[NightWatcher]

21. or it could be that serial killers use truck stops and interstate routes

Most truck stops are open 24 hours and I'd bet that many serial killers simply prefer the anonymity that these roadside places provide. Most series killers are not going to be staying at fancy hotels and flying in and out of airports, they would be more apt to drive their van through truck stops in the wee small hours of the morning.