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Fugitive Rudolph went to friend for food

sketch
Authorities show sketch of Rudolph  

Feds intensify hunt for clinic bombing suspect

July 15, 1998
Web posted at: 4:52 p.m. EDT (2052 GMT)

In this story:

ANDREWS, North Carolina (CNN) -- A stepped up manhunt was under way Wednesday for Eric Rudolph, one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives, who disappeared six months ago after a fatal bombing in Alabama. Apparently low on food, he surfaced last week in the same area where he grew up -- the forests and mountains of his native western North Carolina.

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Rudolph dragnet chronology

Search teams using helicopters and dogs concentrated on the rugged mountain ranges ringing Nantahala Lake east of Andrews, a valley town not far from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At first light, dozens of agents could be seen leaving the tightly guarded Appletree Campground, a public facility along a ridge overlooking the lake area where Rudolph was reportedly spotted last week.

In all, more than 100 law enforcement officers, mostly federal agents, are involved in the search over a 30-square-mile area.

The U.S. Customs Service has provided a helicopter reportedly equipped with infrared sensors that could be used at night to locate a human being in the darkness.

'I will not be found'

The key to the intensified search is George Nordman, owner of a health food store in Andrews and a former neighbor of Rudolph.

A source close to the investigation told CNN that Rudolph came to Nordman's home on Nantahala Lake on July 7 and gave him a handwritten grocery list requesting batteries, oatmeal, beans and enough other items to keep him supplied for a year.

"I will not be found by federal agents or dogs," Rudolph reportedly told Nordman. The fugitive is also said to have requested a detailed map of where the agents hunting for him are staying.

supply list

Nordman described Rudolph as being unarmed, thinner, with a beard, longer hair and wearing full camouflage clothing, the source said. Authorities released a new composite drawing of Rudolph on Tuesday.

Food, truck stolen

According to the source, Nordman provided Rudolph with some of the food items requested and arranged to meet with him again on the night of July 9 at Nordman's home so that Rudolph could pick up the rest.

But that's not what happened, according to the source. Nordman did not return home that evening, a Thursday. Instead, he arrived a day later -- on Friday evening -- to discover that his blue Datsun pickup truck was missing along with about 50-75 pounds of food.

Rudolph left five $100 bills as payment, the source said.

Nordman reported the missing truck -- and his encounter with Rudolph -- on Saturday. U.S. Forest Service officials found the vehicle on Monday at a campground in the Nantahala National Forest.

The truck had previous engine problems and broke down. Authorities believe it was abandoned on Friday. Inside the truck was a note explaining whom it belonged to, written in handwriting identified by authorities as Rudolph's.

clinic
Rudolph is suspected of bombing The New Woman All Women Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama  

Wanted for fatal bombing

Rudolph is charged in the January 29 bombing of the New Woman All Women clinic, which killed an off-duty police officer and seriously wounded a nurse in Birmingham, Alabama. Abortions are performed at the clinic.

He also is wanted for questioning in three Georgia bombings, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park bombing that killed one and wounded more than 100 others.

The FBI placed Rudolph on its most wanted list on May 6 and increased the reward to $1 million for anyone with information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Last week's sighting of Rudolph was the first solid clue to his whereabouts since February, when a pickup truck seen near the clinic bombing site was recovered 15 miles away from Andrews, near Rudolph's hometown of Murphy.

Correspondent Brian Cabell contributed to this report.

 
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