Most wanted lists are maintained by law enforcement agencies and include lineups of fugitives deemed the highest priority to capture. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) created the first most wanted list under the direction of former FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, on March 14, 1950. The “FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list started after a reporter asked Hoover to provide a way for the public to know about the criminals that were the highest risk to society. Since then, most wanted lists spread throughout the world. Within the U.S., each state maintains its own lists of most wanted criminals, generally broken down by city and/or county.
FBI Most Wanted By Category
- FBI Most Wanted (Main Site)
- Top Ten
- Fugitives
- Crimes Against Children
- Murder
- Additional Violent Crimes
- Cyber Crimes
- White Collar Crimes
- Counterintelligence
- CEI
- Human Trafficking
- Terrorism
- Missing People
- Seeking Info.
- Parental Kidnappings
- Bank Robbers
- Endangered Child Alert Program
- ViCAP
Most Wanted By State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
