Current:Home > MyMan who escaped from Oregon prison 30 years ago found in Georgia using dead child's identity, officials say -Global Capital Summit
Man who escaped from Oregon prison 30 years ago found in Georgia using dead child's identity, officials say
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:17:37
A fugitive was arrested this week in central Georgia after being on the run for nearly 30 years, authorities said. The man escaped from an Oregon prison in 1994 and subsequently stole the identity of a child who had died in Texas decades earlier, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Steven Craig Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday by members of a regional task force in Macon, Georgia, who found him at around 2 p.m. at an apartment complex in the city, the Marshals Service said in a news release. Now 70, Johnson had been living under the alias William Cox since 2011.
He fled from a prison work crew in Oregon on Nov. 29, 1994, while serving a state sentence for sexual abuse and sodomy. His convictions more specifically included three counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of first-degree attempted sodomy, CBS affiliate KOIN-TV reported.
Johnson had been serving his sentence at the Mill Creek Correctional Facility in Salem, about halfway between Portland and Eugene, the Oregon Department of Corrections said. The Mill Creek facility was a minimum security prison located just a few miles outside of the city of Salem, on an unfenced property covering around 2,000 acres, according to the department. Before it closed in 2021, the facility housed roughly 290 inmates who were within four years of release.
Johnson was wanted on an arrest warrant for escape in Oregon, where he has been listed for years among six of the state's most wanted people. A wanted poster for Johnson issued by the Oregon Department of Corrections noted Texas as one potential location where he had fled, although authorities did not give more details as to his connection to Texas, if any. The poster said Johnson is "a pedophile and presents a high probability of victimizing pre-teen boys." It cautioned that he "should not be allowed contact with children."
The Marshals Service said that it took on Johnson's fugitive case in 2015 at the request of the Oregon Department of Corrections. After spending nine years trying to find him, the agency said that "new investigative technology employed by the Diplomatic Security Service" finally helped develop meaningful leads in 2024.
In addition to adopting a fake name, the investigation also revealed that Johnson had stolen the identity of a child after escaping prison. The child died in Texas in January 1962, the Marshals Service said. Johnson obtained a copy of the child's birth certificate and, soon after, obtained a Social Security number in Texas in 1995. The earliest record of Johnson with a Georgia driver's license came in 1998.
Following his arrest in Georgia, Johnson was booked into the Bibb County Jail in Macon. He is awaiting extradition back to Oregon.
- In:
- United States Marshals Service
- Georgia
- Oregon
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (1)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- This Week in Clean Economy: China Is Leading the Race for Clean Energy Jobs
- What's next for the abortion pill mifepristone?
- The dream of wiping out polio might need a rethink
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- 80-hour weeks and roaches near your cot? More medical residents unionize
- For the first time in 15 years, liberals win control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
- Vitamix 24-Hour Deal: Save 46% On a Blender That Functions as a 13-In-1 Machine
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Dying Orchards, Missing Fish as Climate Change Fueled Europe’s Record Heat
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- A deadly disease so neglected it's not even on the list of neglected tropical diseases
- Don’t Miss This $65 Deal on $142 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Skincare Products
- EPA’s ‘Secret Science’ Rule Meets with an Outpouring of Protest on Last Day for Public Comment
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Jessica Alba Shares Sweet Selfie With Husband Cash Warren on Their 15th Anniversary
- Building a better brain through music, dance and poetry
- This Week in Clean Economy: West Coast ‘Green’ Jobs Data Shows Promise
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
The future terrified Nancy until a doctor gave her life-changing advice
Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
'Oppenheimer' sex scene with Cillian Murphy sparks backlash in India: 'Attack on Hinduism'
Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
This Week in Clean Economy: Cost of Going Solar Is Dropping Fast, State Study Finds
Q&A: Plug-In Leader Discusses Ups and Downs of America’s E.V. Transformation
Siberian Wildfires Prompt Russia to Declare a State of Emergency