The FBI has released new photos of a Massachusetts man wanted for a 1980 murder.
Donald Eugene Webb, who would be 85 years old now, is the only fugitive in the United States wanted for the murder of a police chief, according to FBI Boston.
The new photos released Thursday were taken on a cruise that Webb and his wife took in 1979, about a year before he allegedly murdered Police Chief Gregory Adams in Pennsylvania.
“We’re asking the public to take a close look at these photographs that we recently acquired and contact us if they have any information about Mr. Webb’s whereabouts,” said Harold H. Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, in a statement.
“The FBI cannot make the assumption Webb is deceased without verification,” he added. “We’re in the final stages of this investigation, and, given Mr. Webb’s age, we’re doing everything we can to bring some closure to Chief Adams’ family and the citizens of Saxonburg.”
Webb was living in New Bedford, Massachusetts, with his wife and stepson when officials say he fatally beat and shot Adams of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 4, 1980.
Webb’s white Mercury Cougar, which authorities say was his getaway vehicle, was found in a parking lot in Warwick, Rhode Island, on Dec. 21, 1980.
“This suggests that Webb returned to the Providence/southeastern Massachusetts area of New England after the murder,” the FBI said.
Blood evidence was found in the Mercury, indicating that Webb was injured in the interaction with Adams, according to officials.
Around the time of the murder, Webb, then 49, was a “career criminal” who burglarized jewelry stores. He was wanted on federal charges for burglary in New York before the murder.
Officials believe that he was in Pennsylvania at the time of Adam’s murder to check out another potential burglary target. Webb was known to stay in motels in eastern Pennsylvania, the FBI said, under the alias Stanley Portas, the name of his wife’s dead former husband.
Webb is a white male with brown eyes and is 5-foot-9; he was approximately 165 pounds with graying brown hair at the time that he fled. Officials say he may have two tattoos: “DON” on the web of his right hand and “ANN” on his chest.
Webb was one of the longest-tenured people to ever appear on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to the bureau; he was added to the list on May 4, 1981, and removed on March 31, 2007.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information about Webb’s current whereabouts or the location of his remains. Anyone with information can call 1-800-CALL-BI (1-800-225-5324), or tips can be submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
