Man on the FBI’s Top Ten Wanted List for killing two park rangers.
Claude Dallas was a poacher who hunted for big game in Idaho/Nevada regions. Dallas was tracked by two rangers for his poaching but shot and killed them both instead. Dallas evaded arrest for 15 months, surviving off the land as a true survivalist.
Dallas became a convicted felon, prison escapee, and became the 400th fugative on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List.
Eventually, his crimes would catch up with him.
Who was Claude Lafayette Dallas Jr.?
Claude Dallas was born on March 11th, 1950 in Winchester, Virginia. His father was a dairy farmer that made decent money and who was able to provide for his family. His family did move around quite a bit but he spent the majority of his childhood in Luce County. Eventually, they moved to Morrow County in Ohio where he learned how to trap and hunt animals.
Dallas had an unusual fascination with the Old West and cowboys. He dreamed of living off the land and wanted to be like the cowboys he read about in his history books. When he graduated from Mount Gilead High School in 1967, he went hitch hiking across the United States. He ended up in Oregon where he began working as a ranch hand at a local ranch and as a trapper.
