Serial killers hide as long-haul truck drivers to terrorize America’s highways, expert says

Serial killers in the United States may work as long-haul truck drivers.

The FBI launched its Highway Serial Killings Initiative in 2009 when analysts noticed a pattern of murdered women – most of whom had transient lifestyles involving drug abuse and prostitution – who were found in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Was killed and dumped along the Interstate 40 corridor. On its website.

Using the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, which is a national database between law enforcement branches that includes information about murders, sexual assaults, missing people and unidentified human remains, analysts located hundreds of victims and hundreds of bodies along highways across the country. Collected a list of suspects, primarily long-haul truck drivers.

Former FBI assistant director Frank Figluzzi, who spent 25 years with the agency, released a book on the subject this year, “Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers.”

In the book he writes that since 1980 there have been about 850 murders on America’s highways and about 200 of them remain unsolved.

Dominic said, “Often, the people who are most at risk of being kidnapped or harmed by serial killers are the people who are most invisible, who are least likely to have connections to their families and have no trafficker. It may or may not happen.” Roe-Sepowitz, director of Arizona State University’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research.

“The casual reference (to a woman selling sex at truck stops along interstate highways) is a ‘lot lizard.’ They are often very transient and often suffer from substance abuse disorders. They are very likely to be missed by the truck driver, who can easily lure them with some money,” she said. standards and a low level of personal security.”

There are between 300,000 and 500,000 long-haul truck drivers in the U.S., NPR reports, and most of them are honest workers committed to keeping the supply chain running.

But the mobile nature of truck drivers’ lifestyles and the multiple jurisdictions they travel through, leading to a shortage of witnesses and the possibility of being caught if they pick up, murder and dump vulnerable sex workers and transients. Decreases.

“25 long-haul truck drivers already in jail for multiple murders,” Figliuzzi told NewsNation“There have been cases in the greater Cincinnati and greater Ohio area.”

According to the FBI’s website, the program has led to the capture and arrest of suspects believed responsible for murders across the country.

Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s National Press Office Richard J. Kolko told Fox News Digital last week that the program “is no more”, but he did not provide specifics about the consequences of the program or the reasons for its closure.

Roe-Sepowitz said the halted program is “just one more cut to a very bleeding-edge situation where vulnerable women simply aren’t being looked after.”

“This is another way people can take advantage of and participate in violence against girls and women,” she said. “There is no national tracking of smugglers.”

He added, “Without that unit at the FBI level, at that interstate level, there is nothing that is linking those crimes.” “It is a loss for the intellect. They won’t see the patterns because who else is looking for them? The answer to this is none.”

Roe-Sepowitz said most long-haul truck drivers are certainly not serial killers or sex traffickers.

In fact, a group called Truckers Against Trafficking has trained 235,329 truck drivers to detect and intervene in human trafficking situations, according to their website.

“Truckers aren’t always the villains,” Roe-Sepowitz said. “They can be part of the solution. They can search for victims. They can help save people. They can be part of our caring, loving community. But something needs to change.”