To the Point
Convicted Murderer Captured in Portugal after 41-Year Manhunt
Convicted of a string of armed robberies and the 1962 murder of a New Jersey gas station owner, George Wright escaped from state prison in 1970 and joined the Black Liberation Army in Detroit. Two years later he hijacked a plane and demanded that FBI agents deliver a million in ransom money — clad only in bathing suits.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readConvicted of a string of armed robberies and the 1962 murder of a New Jersey gas station owner, George Wright escaped from state prison in 1970 and joined the Black Liberation Army in Detroit. Two years later he hijacked a plane and demanded that FBI agents deliver a million in ransom money — clad only in bathing suits. The plane was flown to Algeria and now, after 41 years on the run, Wright's been captured in Portugal, living quietly with a wife and two children in the beach resort of Sintra. Charlie Webster of the Ashbury Park Press in New Jersey says Wright was tracked down by the New York-New Jersey Fugitive Task force, which "blew the dust" off his case eight years ago.
