1 00:00:02,828 --> 00:00:06,876 - We get a call regarding an unattended backpack. 2 00:00:06,919 --> 00:00:08,356 I was on my hands and knees 3 00:00:08,399 --> 00:00:11,098 and I could hear the ticking of a clock. 4 00:00:11,141 --> 00:00:12,621 It's a bomb. 5 00:00:12,664 --> 00:00:14,623 [an explosion blasts] 6 00:00:14,666 --> 00:00:17,060 - Then there was another bomb that goes off. 7 00:00:17,104 --> 00:00:17,930 - He pulls a switch. 8 00:00:17,974 --> 00:00:19,932 [an explosion blasts] 9 00:00:20,890 --> 00:00:23,545 - The bad guy actually waited for the proper moment 10 00:00:23,588 --> 00:00:25,851 to cause as much harm and death as he could when it detonated. 11 00:00:27,723 --> 00:00:30,204 - He's willing to kill. He's committed. 12 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:35,035 - Someone notices someone walking away from the scene. 13 00:00:35,078 --> 00:00:36,601 - Now we have a suspect. 14 00:00:36,645 --> 00:00:39,691 - That launched probably one of the most extensive 15 00:00:39,735 --> 00:00:42,999 manhunts and fugitive investigations in the FBI's history. 16 00:00:43,043 --> 00:00:44,957 [intense music] 17 00:00:45,001 --> 00:00:46,829 - Time is of the essence. People are dying 18 00:00:46,872 --> 00:00:49,440 and we don't know where the next bombs are going to go off. 19 00:00:52,269 --> 00:00:56,056 [narrator]: In the FBI we make a lot of headlines. 20 00:00:58,884 --> 00:01:02,062 Drug busts, mob stings... 21 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:05,587 ...terrorist takedowns. 22 00:01:07,023 --> 00:01:10,070 We understand why people want to tell stories about us. 23 00:01:10,113 --> 00:01:11,723 - Mark it. - Freeze! 24 00:01:11,767 --> 00:01:13,334 - FBI. - FBI! - Action! 25 00:01:13,377 --> 00:01:15,684 But they don't know the half of it. 26 00:01:17,251 --> 00:01:19,079 What really goes down? 27 00:01:20,123 --> 00:01:22,125 We save that for each other 28 00:01:22,169 --> 00:01:24,084 when we're talking agent to agent. 29 00:01:26,260 --> 00:01:27,261 This is FBI True. 30 00:01:38,359 --> 00:01:41,884 - So we've had Centennial Park bombing... 31 00:01:43,015 --> 00:01:44,408 ...women's clinic bombing... 32 00:01:45,235 --> 00:01:46,889 ...lesbian bar bombing. 33 00:01:46,932 --> 00:01:49,326 - And then one in Alabama. 34 00:01:49,370 --> 00:01:52,112 The Birmingham abortion clinic bomb. 35 00:01:52,155 --> 00:01:55,202 - This clinic had received some threats 36 00:01:55,245 --> 00:01:58,292 and some phone calls and so forth. 37 00:01:58,335 --> 00:02:01,382 The members of the Birmingham police department were hired 38 00:02:01,425 --> 00:02:04,254 to provide security for the opening and closing 39 00:02:04,298 --> 00:02:05,995 of the clinic each day. 40 00:02:06,038 --> 00:02:10,955 Officer Sanderson was the officer working that day. 41 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,089 He met Emily Lyons, 42 00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:15,091 who was a nurse there at the clinic. 43 00:02:15,135 --> 00:02:17,137 And they together walked up 44 00:02:17,180 --> 00:02:20,531 to open up the clinic that day. 45 00:02:20,575 --> 00:02:23,447 [somber music] 46 00:02:29,366 --> 00:02:32,500 - The police officer who was doing security 47 00:02:32,543 --> 00:02:35,285 was killed, and a nurse was seriously wounded. 48 00:02:35,329 --> 00:02:37,548 [somber music] 49 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,769 The nurse was looking right at the device 50 00:02:40,812 --> 00:02:43,511 based on the debris that hit her in the face and blinded her. 51 00:02:43,554 --> 00:02:48,168 She had severe injuries from looking right at it. 52 00:02:48,211 --> 00:02:50,257 Thank God, she lived. 53 00:02:50,300 --> 00:02:52,476 [somber music] 54 00:02:53,738 --> 00:02:56,437 This was a little bit different than the other bombs 55 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,354 in that this was a remote- controlled, detonated device. 56 00:03:00,397 --> 00:03:02,573 [suspenseful music] 57 00:03:03,139 --> 00:03:06,098 - Our bomber is across the street. 58 00:03:06,142 --> 00:03:09,189 - How do we know that, Bill? - Well, because in order to fire 59 00:03:09,232 --> 00:03:12,148 this device off, the radio frequency only goes a certain distance. 60 00:03:12,192 --> 00:03:15,238 So you can't be, you know, real far away 61 00:03:15,282 --> 00:03:17,153 and have it go off. 62 00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:20,722 - The device was sitting in a fake plant by the front door. 63 00:03:20,765 --> 00:03:23,420 [suspenseful music] 64 00:03:26,249 --> 00:03:29,296 That means that the bad guy is there within sight 65 00:03:29,339 --> 00:03:32,124 watching and actually waited 66 00:03:32,168 --> 00:03:35,650 for the proper moment to cause as much harm and death as he could when it detonated. 67 00:03:35,692 --> 00:03:38,478 - The bomber, the individual doing this actually 68 00:03:38,522 --> 00:03:40,394 was waiting for the officer. 69 00:03:40,437 --> 00:03:42,570 - Correct. - And the other person to get close. 70 00:03:42,613 --> 00:03:45,225 And when that officer was at the closest possible place, 71 00:03:45,268 --> 00:03:46,530 that bomber made the decision to ignite. 72 00:03:46,574 --> 00:03:47,966 - He pulls a switch. 73 00:03:48,010 --> 00:03:50,404 [somber music] 74 00:03:57,149 --> 00:03:59,761 - If your goal in this was to shut the clinic down 75 00:03:59,804 --> 00:04:01,980 or to shut me down, it didn't work. 76 00:04:02,024 --> 00:04:03,765 It's not going to work. 77 00:04:04,461 --> 00:04:06,202 The clinics will stay open. 78 00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:08,291 The workers will continue to come. 79 00:04:08,335 --> 00:04:10,772 Patients will continue to come. 80 00:04:10,815 --> 00:04:13,340 [somber music] 81 00:04:20,476 --> 00:04:23,132 - As you know, we've invited two of your colleagues, 82 00:04:23,175 --> 00:04:25,395 Ron and Chris, to share their part of the case. 83 00:04:25,439 --> 00:04:26,353 Here they are. 84 00:04:26,396 --> 00:04:29,138 Hey, guys. - Hey. 85 00:04:29,181 --> 00:04:30,618 - Good to see you. 86 00:04:32,837 --> 00:04:35,449 Grab a chair. 87 00:04:36,406 --> 00:04:39,148 Ron, when did you become involved, in what capacity? 88 00:04:39,191 --> 00:04:41,063 - One of my primary missions 89 00:04:41,106 --> 00:04:44,414 was to do profiles, behavioral assessments of bombers. 90 00:04:44,457 --> 00:04:47,287 [narrator]: Ron Tunkel is a retired special agent 91 00:04:47,330 --> 00:04:49,332 criminal profiler with the ATF. 92 00:04:49,376 --> 00:04:53,075 He was detailed to the FBI for 17 years. 93 00:04:53,118 --> 00:04:57,601 - Bombers like this tend to be lone solitary offenders. 94 00:04:57,645 --> 00:05:00,082 - And he fit the classic definition of a domestic terrorist. 95 00:05:00,125 --> 00:05:02,389 [narrator]: Chris Swecker served for 24 years 96 00:05:02,432 --> 00:05:04,608 as a special agent with the FB. 97 00:05:04,652 --> 00:05:07,959 He retired as assistant director 98 00:05:08,003 --> 00:05:11,963 with responsibility over all FBI criminal investigations. 99 00:05:12,007 --> 00:05:14,792 - And one of the things that we relied 100 00:05:14,836 --> 00:05:16,794 heavily on was the profiling, 101 00:05:16,838 --> 00:05:20,102 the written profiles that I studied, they became our Bible. 102 00:05:20,145 --> 00:05:22,670 - We had an idea of the type of individual. 103 00:05:22,713 --> 00:05:25,281 A note of hypervigilance 104 00:05:25,325 --> 00:05:28,023 or what some people might call paranoia. 105 00:05:28,066 --> 00:05:29,546 He's committed. 106 00:05:29,590 --> 00:05:32,854 Anti-government, anti-abortion, 107 00:05:32,897 --> 00:05:35,204 anti-homosexuality. 108 00:05:35,247 --> 00:05:36,945 - What kind of clues were you given access to, 109 00:05:36,988 --> 00:05:39,948 to make a more detailed assessment of this target? 110 00:05:39,991 --> 00:05:43,343 - Certainly, the anti-personnel nature of the device, 111 00:05:43,386 --> 00:05:45,040 the shrapnel. 112 00:05:45,082 --> 00:05:48,391 Added metal, ball bearings in this case, 113 00:05:48,435 --> 00:05:52,569 nails, that are designed to increase the lethality. 114 00:05:52,613 --> 00:05:55,093 [suspenseful music] 115 00:05:55,137 --> 00:05:56,659 He's willing to kill, 116 00:05:56,704 --> 00:05:58,923 willing to accept the consequences. 117 00:05:58,967 --> 00:06:02,187 Certainly he's going to be the object of a massive manhunt 118 00:06:02,231 --> 00:06:04,886 and investigation by the federal agencies. 119 00:06:04,929 --> 00:06:07,367 [suspenseful music] 120 00:06:13,982 --> 00:06:16,898 But after the bombing in Birmingham, 121 00:06:16,941 --> 00:06:19,466 the witnesses who heard the explosion, 122 00:06:19,509 --> 00:06:21,511 seeing people either standing there 123 00:06:21,555 --> 00:06:23,557 staring that way or running, 124 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,865 a man is methodically walking away from the explosion. 125 00:06:27,909 --> 00:06:30,346 Which the witnesses thought was odd. 126 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:32,130 - And he gets into a pickup truck. 127 00:06:32,174 --> 00:06:36,439 The witness gets the license number 128 00:06:36,483 --> 00:06:39,050 and calls 911. 129 00:06:40,443 --> 00:06:42,619 - So we have the license plate number. 130 00:06:42,663 --> 00:06:45,492 They research it, they trace it, it comes back to North Carolina. 131 00:06:45,534 --> 00:06:47,885 And like I always say, sometimes God loves cops 132 00:06:47,929 --> 00:06:49,757 because now we have a name, 133 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:51,715 Eric Robert Rudolph. 134 00:06:51,759 --> 00:06:54,239 And lo and behold, finally, once and for all, we have a suspect, 135 00:06:54,283 --> 00:06:55,850 but now we've got to catch him. 136 00:06:59,027 --> 00:07:02,378 - So at this point, guys, we have a witness that was able to grab a tag. 137 00:07:02,422 --> 00:07:04,075 - The FBI very quickly 138 00:07:04,119 --> 00:07:07,209 looks at the license tag, gets a name, 139 00:07:07,252 --> 00:07:09,559 Eric Robert Rudolph, and a location. 140 00:07:09,603 --> 00:07:11,387 Murphy, North Carolina. 141 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:13,563 [suspenseful music] 142 00:07:14,651 --> 00:07:16,305 First thing they do is pick up the phone 143 00:07:16,348 --> 00:07:18,438 and call the sheriff up in Cherokee County. 144 00:07:18,481 --> 00:07:20,875 They know their people in their counties. 145 00:07:22,616 --> 00:07:25,488 They knew of him and they were ready to go. 146 00:07:25,532 --> 00:07:28,230 They were ready to launch right then and there to his trailer 147 00:07:28,273 --> 00:07:29,927 and make the arrest. 148 00:07:30,841 --> 00:07:32,713 The FBI told them to hold off. 149 00:07:33,844 --> 00:07:36,717 By the time the agents and the SWAT team got to his trailer, 150 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,633 it was very obvious that he had left in a big hurry. 151 00:07:39,676 --> 00:07:41,504 The FBI made a tactical error. 152 00:07:41,548 --> 00:07:44,202 Somebody had leaked some of the information, so he had already left. 153 00:07:44,246 --> 00:07:46,814 [suspenseful music] 154 00:07:49,077 --> 00:07:51,427 - They basically froze the premises. 155 00:07:51,471 --> 00:07:52,907 There was food there, 156 00:07:52,950 --> 00:07:54,952 there were receipts for some fast food. 157 00:07:54,996 --> 00:07:57,215 He had rented a blockbuster movie the night before. 158 00:07:57,259 --> 00:07:59,217 They did a very thorough search. 159 00:07:59,261 --> 00:08:02,133 - And the other thing there was some other additional evidence 160 00:08:02,177 --> 00:08:04,266 that was with explosive material that was found. 161 00:08:04,309 --> 00:08:06,050 Materials that were used 162 00:08:06,094 --> 00:08:08,836 commonly with the wiring and the triggering 163 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:11,491 of the bombs that were consistent all the way through. 164 00:08:11,534 --> 00:08:14,581 - So, we have evidence that from a technical standpoint 165 00:08:14,624 --> 00:08:17,409 that bombs were made the same. 166 00:08:17,453 --> 00:08:19,324 - In a forensic way. - Right. 167 00:08:19,368 --> 00:08:21,892 - But also matching the bombings to this individual. 168 00:08:21,936 --> 00:08:24,373 And that's why they needed to take their time 169 00:08:24,416 --> 00:08:27,724 searching the trailer, but also launch the manhunt right then and there. 170 00:08:27,768 --> 00:08:29,596 - What does that manhunt look like? 171 00:08:29,639 --> 00:08:33,294 - A lot of people, local sheriff, police chiefs, 172 00:08:33,337 --> 00:08:35,775 surrounding sheriffs, ATF, 173 00:08:35,818 --> 00:08:37,168 park rangers, 174 00:08:37,212 --> 00:08:39,039 the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 175 00:08:39,082 --> 00:08:40,607 the State Bureau of Investigation. 176 00:08:40,650 --> 00:08:42,173 I mean, it was a cast of thousands. 177 00:08:43,784 --> 00:08:45,568 It was a very, very intense, 178 00:08:45,612 --> 00:08:47,788 very extensive manhunt. 179 00:08:47,831 --> 00:08:50,007 [suspenseful music] 180 00:08:50,051 --> 00:08:51,487 The personality profile 181 00:08:51,531 --> 00:08:53,794 convinced everybody that he was still there. 182 00:08:53,837 --> 00:08:55,883 A couple days after 183 00:08:55,926 --> 00:08:58,189 the FBI had missed him at his trailer, 184 00:08:58,233 --> 00:08:59,495 his car was found... 185 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:02,498 [suspenseful music] 186 00:09:06,371 --> 00:09:09,679 ...and it was in the Nantahala National Forest area. 187 00:09:11,681 --> 00:09:15,424 The immediate assumption was that he was in those woods, 188 00:09:15,467 --> 00:09:17,252 that he had a campsite back there. 189 00:09:17,295 --> 00:09:19,341 He was, some would say, a survivalist. 190 00:09:19,384 --> 00:09:23,301 And he was extremely familiar with the terrain and the area. 191 00:09:23,345 --> 00:09:25,260 So advantage Rudolph at that point. 192 00:09:25,303 --> 00:09:27,349 [suspenseful music] 193 00:09:28,959 --> 00:09:32,833 - What's the environment like that we believe Rudolph was in? 194 00:09:32,876 --> 00:09:35,226 - This is a very remote, 195 00:09:35,270 --> 00:09:38,360 mountainous region of North Carolina. 196 00:09:38,403 --> 00:09:40,928 [calm music] 197 00:09:42,190 --> 00:09:45,585 - This is a vast national forest. 198 00:09:45,628 --> 00:09:48,109 Just heavy trees, heavy underbrush. 199 00:09:48,152 --> 00:09:52,679 And you can be literally feet from a person and not see him. 200 00:09:52,722 --> 00:09:56,813 - Eric was trained from the army in escape and evasion. 201 00:09:56,857 --> 00:09:59,250 [suspenseful music] 202 00:10:00,512 --> 00:10:02,950 I was amazed 203 00:10:02,993 --> 00:10:04,908 looking at the country and thinking, 204 00:10:04,952 --> 00:10:06,954 we're never going to find the guy here. 205 00:10:06,997 --> 00:10:09,652 There's snakes, poisonous snakes, 206 00:10:09,696 --> 00:10:11,654 mosquitoes, ticks, 207 00:10:11,698 --> 00:10:14,309 all kinds of things that the pursuing agents 208 00:10:14,352 --> 00:10:16,790 I think we tend to forget about 209 00:10:16,833 --> 00:10:20,620 just the environmental hazards they had facing them. - Wow. 210 00:10:20,663 --> 00:10:23,013 - Talking to some of the locals I've talked to, many of them, 211 00:10:23,057 --> 00:10:24,885 I'm from North Carolina. 212 00:10:24,928 --> 00:10:26,930 It was almost like a war zone. 213 00:10:26,974 --> 00:10:29,629 Choppers flying overhead, people in cammies, 214 00:10:29,672 --> 00:10:31,979 you know, kitted out, 215 00:10:32,022 --> 00:10:34,677 with tactical weapons, tramping through the woods on the trails, 216 00:10:34,721 --> 00:10:36,636 off the trails, dogs. 217 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:40,117 It felt, you know, almost like an occupational army 218 00:10:40,161 --> 00:10:42,685 had taken over Murphy and topped into that area. 219 00:10:44,469 --> 00:10:45,906 - Chris, you're from that area 220 00:10:45,949 --> 00:10:48,386 and you're familiar with where Rudolph had escaped to. 221 00:10:48,430 --> 00:10:49,823 What's the atmosphere like? 222 00:10:49,866 --> 00:10:53,130 - That's the far reaches of western North Carolina. 223 00:10:53,174 --> 00:10:55,655 So that area, in Cherokee County and Murphy, 224 00:10:55,698 --> 00:10:57,482 there's a strain of anti-government 225 00:10:57,526 --> 00:10:58,875 throughout that whole area. 226 00:10:58,919 --> 00:11:01,008 There were people who were obvious sympathizers. 227 00:11:01,051 --> 00:11:03,227 - Do you think Eric Rudolph has a lot of friends around here? 228 00:11:03,271 --> 00:11:04,838 - All over the United States, I'd say. 229 00:11:04,881 --> 00:11:06,448 - Do you think you would be pleased 230 00:11:06,491 --> 00:11:08,319 if Eric Rudolph were never caught? 231 00:11:08,363 --> 00:11:10,931 - I'd rather not have no comment on that. 232 00:11:10,974 --> 00:11:13,020 [suspenseful music] 233 00:11:19,287 --> 00:11:21,028 Somebody fired into our command post, 234 00:11:21,071 --> 00:11:22,899 and that was an intense investigation, 235 00:11:22,943 --> 00:11:24,771 because an agent had almost been shot. 236 00:11:24,814 --> 00:11:27,338 The round landed right next to his head. 237 00:11:27,382 --> 00:11:28,818 And you had to think, well, 238 00:11:28,862 --> 00:11:30,428 somebody's willing to shoot into the command post, 239 00:11:30,472 --> 00:11:32,387 is he in alliance with Eric Rudolph? 240 00:11:32,430 --> 00:11:34,171 Does somebody like this know where he is? 241 00:11:34,215 --> 00:11:35,782 Is he working with other people? 242 00:11:35,825 --> 00:11:37,958 [suspenseful music] 243 00:11:41,091 --> 00:11:43,267 - Who was the individual that shot 244 00:11:43,311 --> 00:11:45,095 and was it a sympathizer, or...? 245 00:11:45,139 --> 00:11:48,272 - It was a local, kind of a local ne'er-do-well 246 00:11:48,316 --> 00:11:51,536 who shared the ideology, local supporter. 247 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:54,148 You know, even rank-and-file people 248 00:11:54,191 --> 00:11:55,889 were somewhat sympathetic 249 00:11:55,932 --> 00:11:58,674 because Eric Rudolph was anti-abortion. 250 00:11:58,718 --> 00:12:00,937 This is a very conservative area. 251 00:12:00,981 --> 00:12:03,897 Quite a few people, they're anti-abortion, anti-gay, 252 00:12:03,940 --> 00:12:07,204 so, there was sympathy for Eric Rudolph. 253 00:12:07,248 --> 00:12:09,250 There were T-shirts that said, "Run, Eric, run!" 254 00:12:09,293 --> 00:12:11,426 being sold in the local stores. 255 00:12:11,469 --> 00:12:14,908 ♪ Run, Rudolph, run 256 00:12:16,083 --> 00:12:20,696 ♪ Or the FBI's gonna shoot you with their gun ♪♪ 257 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:22,829 - He had this folk hero status. 258 00:12:22,872 --> 00:12:26,049 He was this heroic survivalist. 259 00:12:26,093 --> 00:12:28,835 In interviews of Eric's close friends, 260 00:12:28,878 --> 00:12:32,447 we found out that he had spent his earlier years 261 00:12:32,490 --> 00:12:36,059 camping and playing hide and seek in those mountains, 262 00:12:36,103 --> 00:12:38,801 elaborate war games they used to play 263 00:12:38,845 --> 00:12:40,803 where they would run out in the hills. 264 00:12:42,152 --> 00:12:45,068 Eric had roots in Christian identity, 265 00:12:45,112 --> 00:12:47,854 extremist beliefs. 266 00:12:47,897 --> 00:12:51,988 After the bombing in the gay bar in Atlanta, 267 00:12:52,032 --> 00:12:55,644 he sends a note targeting the sodomites. 268 00:12:55,687 --> 00:12:59,126 Pages are highlighted, verses are highlighted. 269 00:12:59,169 --> 00:13:01,215 [suspenseful music] 270 00:13:04,566 --> 00:13:07,874 And in the margins he had written "anti-homosexual." 271 00:13:07,917 --> 00:13:11,355 So, he espouses that he's against homosexuality, 272 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:15,229 yet he has a good and close relationship with his brother, 273 00:13:15,272 --> 00:13:17,361 who's openly gay at the time. 274 00:13:17,405 --> 00:13:19,929 We kind of distilled all of that down 275 00:13:19,973 --> 00:13:22,540 into what we thought was the core of his issue. 276 00:13:22,584 --> 00:13:24,716 And this is a very angry young man. 277 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,938 Narcissistic traits and characteristics. 278 00:13:28,982 --> 00:13:32,594 And but... the anger that needed to be expressed. 279 00:13:32,637 --> 00:13:34,857 [eerie music] 280 00:13:39,296 --> 00:13:43,431 We felt that these causes: anti-abortion, 281 00:13:43,474 --> 00:13:45,259 anti-homosexuality, 282 00:13:45,302 --> 00:13:48,958 anti-big government, they were convenient postures 283 00:13:49,002 --> 00:13:51,395 or positions for him to take 284 00:13:51,439 --> 00:13:55,182 to nobly express his violent intentions 285 00:13:55,225 --> 00:13:58,185 and allow him to vent his anger 286 00:13:58,228 --> 00:14:01,623 and hostility and desire to kill 287 00:14:01,666 --> 00:14:04,756 and cloak it in the mantle of nobility of a higher cause. 288 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,628 [suspenseful music] 289 00:14:09,196 --> 00:14:11,807 - There were still a lot of people that thought 290 00:14:11,851 --> 00:14:14,592 he can't be in that area. Nobody's caught him. 291 00:14:14,636 --> 00:14:17,421 After five years, he's either dead or he's somewhere else. 292 00:14:17,465 --> 00:14:19,771 [suspenseful music] 293 00:14:21,469 --> 00:14:24,080 I mean, there were hundreds, literally hundreds 294 00:14:24,124 --> 00:14:27,692 of law enforcement, various law enforcement agents and officers there. 295 00:14:27,736 --> 00:14:29,869 But we knew we couldn't sustain that... 296 00:14:31,087 --> 00:14:34,177 And going forward, it was going to slim down. 297 00:14:34,221 --> 00:14:38,138 And that slimmed-down version of it looked like five agents. 298 00:14:38,181 --> 00:14:41,576 We relied on the local sheriff's departments. 299 00:14:41,619 --> 00:14:44,927 There were four in the area, several police departments, 300 00:14:44,971 --> 00:14:48,322 forest rangers, North Carolina Wildlife. 301 00:14:48,365 --> 00:14:51,325 We had hired scouts from the Eastern band of the Cherokees. 302 00:14:51,368 --> 00:14:53,109 They were walking the trails. 303 00:14:53,153 --> 00:14:55,198 Some local hunters were still walking the trails. 304 00:14:55,242 --> 00:14:58,506 The idea was, we still have to suppress him, 305 00:14:58,549 --> 00:15:01,161 even though we've dwindled down, we gotta let him know we're still out there. 306 00:15:01,204 --> 00:15:03,903 [somber music] 307 00:15:04,991 --> 00:15:07,602 - Then, yeah, he's still in the area. 308 00:15:07,645 --> 00:15:09,038 We've got a sighting. 309 00:15:09,082 --> 00:15:11,823 We've got a recent sighting, and he's in the area. 310 00:15:16,219 --> 00:15:18,830 So we have a lead at the point of the investigation 311 00:15:18,874 --> 00:15:21,964 where Rudolph approaches a store owner. 312 00:15:22,008 --> 00:15:25,925 - Nordman, who runs a very remote general store 313 00:15:25,968 --> 00:15:27,970 is a bit of a survivalist as well. 314 00:15:28,014 --> 00:15:29,624 He was pretty much to himself. 315 00:15:29,667 --> 00:15:32,801 - Eric had actually camped by Nordman's residence, 316 00:15:32,844 --> 00:15:34,194 surveilling it... 317 00:15:34,237 --> 00:15:37,545 [eerie music] 318 00:15:43,203 --> 00:15:45,988 ...figuring out when he could approach him safely. 319 00:15:46,032 --> 00:15:49,557 He's hungry and he's running out of supplies. 320 00:15:51,341 --> 00:15:55,389 Eric approached Nordman one day at his remote home. 321 00:15:55,432 --> 00:15:59,871 They had a conversation and Eric wanted to borrow his truck. 322 00:15:59,915 --> 00:16:02,831 And he wanted Nordman to get him some supplies. 323 00:16:04,006 --> 00:16:05,965 Mr. Nordman was very frightened. 324 00:16:06,878 --> 00:16:08,968 Eric took the truck nonetheless. 325 00:16:09,011 --> 00:16:10,926 He hardwired it, I think. 326 00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,798 And it was that truck that he used 327 00:16:13,842 --> 00:16:17,106 to get the supplies to his camp. 328 00:16:17,150 --> 00:16:18,455 And it was left there. 329 00:16:18,499 --> 00:16:20,936 [eerie music] 330 00:16:21,589 --> 00:16:23,808 - It's possible that the truck may have been driven 331 00:16:23,852 --> 00:16:25,941 some distance out of the forest area, 332 00:16:25,985 --> 00:16:28,596 and later back in again to where it was found. 333 00:16:28,639 --> 00:16:30,728 - This was the wow moment 334 00:16:30,772 --> 00:16:33,470 because now we knew we had an actual sighting. 335 00:16:35,864 --> 00:16:38,606 We felt part of his method 336 00:16:38,649 --> 00:16:41,522 of success involved intensive surveillance 337 00:16:41,565 --> 00:16:43,828 of the sites he attacked, 338 00:16:43,872 --> 00:16:47,354 and the command post, there was a ridge line above it 339 00:16:47,397 --> 00:16:49,747 and a ridge line on the other side. 340 00:16:49,790 --> 00:16:51,140 And we thought, you know, sooner or later, 341 00:16:51,184 --> 00:16:53,186 he's going to be very curious 342 00:16:53,229 --> 00:16:56,537 and he's going to want to know what's going on. 343 00:16:56,580 --> 00:16:59,670 So we said that he might be surveilling us, 344 00:16:59,714 --> 00:17:03,761 and to have forward observers on the opposite ridge, 345 00:17:03,805 --> 00:17:06,373 observing the ridge where we thought he would be 346 00:17:06,415 --> 00:17:08,417 to see if they would pick him up. 347 00:17:08,462 --> 00:17:10,898 [suspenseful music] 348 00:17:13,944 --> 00:17:15,991 - So, May 31st, 2003, 349 00:17:16,035 --> 00:17:19,342 a young rookie officer 350 00:17:19,386 --> 00:17:21,214 with the Murphy Police Department 351 00:17:21,257 --> 00:17:23,999 is driving on his rounds at night 352 00:17:24,042 --> 00:17:26,001 and he goes behind a grocery store. 353 00:17:26,045 --> 00:17:28,308 [suspenseful music] 354 00:17:29,483 --> 00:17:32,181 He sees something. He thought it was a deer initially, 355 00:17:32,225 --> 00:17:33,965 and he realized it was a person. 356 00:17:34,009 --> 00:17:35,967 He was moving outside behind a dumpster. 357 00:17:36,011 --> 00:17:38,535 He stopped and confronted him. 358 00:17:38,579 --> 00:17:40,537 Jeffrey Postell, who was the officer, 359 00:17:40,581 --> 00:17:42,887 decided to detain him until he could identify him. 360 00:17:43,845 --> 00:17:45,890 I get a phone call early in the morning, it's Rick Schwein, 361 00:17:45,934 --> 00:17:48,719 who's the supervisory FBI special agent. 362 00:17:49,764 --> 00:17:53,028 Back in Murphy, another deputy comes up on the scene. 363 00:17:53,072 --> 00:17:55,117 That deputy grew up in Murphy. 364 00:17:55,161 --> 00:17:57,206 Thought he recognized him as Eric Rudolph, 365 00:17:57,250 --> 00:17:59,382 but it was a tentative identification. 366 00:18:00,427 --> 00:18:03,082 On the phone, Rick says, "I think we have Eric Rudolph. 367 00:18:03,125 --> 00:18:04,474 You probably need to get out there." 368 00:18:04,518 --> 00:18:06,259 They take him down to the sheriff's department 369 00:18:06,302 --> 00:18:08,348 fingerprint him, and then he basically says, 370 00:18:08,391 --> 00:18:10,219 "You got me, I'm Eric Rudolph." 371 00:18:10,263 --> 00:18:12,700 [menacing music] 372 00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:18,445 I've already got a go-bag packed and in my car 373 00:18:18,488 --> 00:18:20,360 because we knew this day would come. 374 00:18:20,403 --> 00:18:22,231 And so I jumped in the car 375 00:18:22,275 --> 00:18:24,581 and I immediately took off for Murphy, North Carolina, 376 00:18:24,625 --> 00:18:27,062 which is about a 3.5 hour drive from my house. 377 00:18:27,106 --> 00:18:29,282 I did it in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. 378 00:18:29,325 --> 00:18:30,892 I made it there in record time. 379 00:18:32,241 --> 00:18:35,636 You know, this only happens once or twice in your career. 380 00:18:35,679 --> 00:18:36,898 I mean, he's a top-ten fugitive. 381 00:18:36,941 --> 00:18:39,161 He's got a $1,000,000 price on his head. 382 00:18:39,205 --> 00:18:40,554 It's a good feeling. 383 00:18:41,424 --> 00:18:43,600 This morning at 4:30 in the morning, 384 00:18:43,644 --> 00:18:47,387 an alert Murphy police officer 385 00:18:47,430 --> 00:18:50,738 noticed something unusual going on behind the Value Village 386 00:18:50,781 --> 00:18:52,609 Shopping Center here in Murphy. 387 00:18:52,653 --> 00:18:55,134 He investigated, he called for backup, 388 00:18:55,177 --> 00:18:57,962 and ultimately arrested Eric Robert Rudolph 389 00:18:58,006 --> 00:19:01,096 at about 4:30 AM this morning. 390 00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:05,187 [reporter]: Eric Rudolph is no longer phantom, no longer shadow. 391 00:19:05,231 --> 00:19:08,756 Finally captured, he's skin and bones and not much more. 392 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:11,498 [eerie music] 393 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:15,502 - During the debrief of Eric Rudolph, 394 00:19:15,545 --> 00:19:17,678 he gave information about his two campsites. 395 00:19:17,721 --> 00:19:19,723 That took some time. We drew maps. 396 00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:21,812 We knew there was about 400 pounds of dynamite 397 00:19:21,856 --> 00:19:23,423 hidden somewhere. 398 00:19:23,466 --> 00:19:26,252 We suspected there were booby traps as well. 399 00:19:26,295 --> 00:19:28,471 [eerie music] 400 00:19:30,647 --> 00:19:32,606 We didn't want anybody to get hurt. 401 00:19:32,649 --> 00:19:35,696 So the prosecutor made a bargain with Rudolph's attorney 402 00:19:35,739 --> 00:19:38,220 that they would take the death penalty off the table 403 00:19:38,264 --> 00:19:40,657 if he would disclose the locations of the dynamite, 404 00:19:40,701 --> 00:19:42,398 which he did. 405 00:19:43,747 --> 00:19:46,794 So he hadn't given up on 406 00:19:46,837 --> 00:19:48,622 continuing to try to kill people. 407 00:19:48,665 --> 00:19:52,452 [stressful music] 408 00:19:58,588 --> 00:20:00,764 It was a deep sense of satisfaction 409 00:20:00,808 --> 00:20:03,550 and knowing that a plan had come together. 410 00:20:03,593 --> 00:20:05,943 And it turns out we were actually right, 411 00:20:05,987 --> 00:20:07,641 because the FBI had taken a lot of heat. 412 00:20:07,684 --> 00:20:10,034 You know, the occupational army 413 00:20:10,078 --> 00:20:12,559 five years out, and still couldn't catch him. 414 00:20:12,602 --> 00:20:16,215 For all practical purposes, he had outwitted the government. 415 00:20:16,258 --> 00:20:18,217 But not really. He got caught. 416 00:20:23,091 --> 00:20:27,095 - My overwhelming feeling with the closure 417 00:20:27,138 --> 00:20:29,271 of all this is just the gratitude. 418 00:20:29,315 --> 00:20:32,970 I just think of all the experiences, 419 00:20:33,014 --> 00:20:36,191 not only myself but everybody that was in the park that night, 420 00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:39,455 and escaped severe injury or death. 421 00:20:40,674 --> 00:20:43,285 I'm profoundly grateful 422 00:20:43,329 --> 00:20:46,245 this time of the year, every year. 423 00:20:48,159 --> 00:20:51,206 And I think about those things. 424 00:20:51,250 --> 00:20:54,296 - We're glad you're still here, brother. 425 00:20:54,340 --> 00:20:57,865 - And, you know, I've been blessed with another day. 426 00:20:57,908 --> 00:20:59,127 Many more days. 427 00:20:59,170 --> 00:21:01,608 At 1:20 a.m. on July 27th, 428 00:21:01,651 --> 00:21:04,306 I was the luckiest FBI agent in the country, for sure.