One of the U.S. Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted recently was found dead in South Carolina, according to news outlet WJCL.
Frederick Cecil McLean, 70, who had eluded authorities for more than 16 years, was found dead in Seneca after a neighbor went to check on him, WJCL reported. Seneca is about 20 miles from the Georgia border.
Credit: US Marshals
Credit: US Marshals
The neighbor found a decomposing body Nov. 6 in the home and called authorities, the U.S. Marshals told WJCL. U.S. Marshals said McLean lived in the home for 15 years and went by the alias “James Fitzgerald.”
“He seemed really nice. That’s what’s so scary,” Lynn Ellison told WJCL. Ellison said her husband found their neighbor. “We knew Jim — he went by Jim at this time — we didn’t know he had any aliases. Talk about being nervous ... I’m still nervous. It’s kind of eerie.”
A fingerprint analysis was used to positively ID McLean, the U.S. Marshals told the news outlet.
No foul play is suspected, according to the Marshals.
“He seemed really nice. That's what's so scary. We knew Jim — he went by Jim at this time — we didn't know he had any aliases. Talk about being nervous ... I'm still nervous. It's kind of eerie."
“The discovery of Frederick McLean’s body marks an end to the manhunt, but the investigation continues,” U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis told WJCL. “I want to personally thank the men and women of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the Oconee County Coroner’s Office who dedicated hundreds of man-hours helping the Marshals identify the body and gather evidence allowing us to gain a better picture of McLean’s life as a fugitive.”
McLean was wanted by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department on multiple counts of sexual assault on a child, according to the Marshals, and was deemed a high risk for sexually assaulting girls.
“He had asked us then if we knew any young boys that wanted to help out — we think he was redoing the inside of his home — that could get into tight spaces and whatnot, and my husband and I exchanged an odd glance like ‘Something’s up with this guy,’” Jessika Faulkenberry told WJCL.
An arrest warrant was issued for McLean in 2005, according to WJCL, and he was added to the U.S. Marshals Service 15 Most Wanted fugitive list in 2006.
McLean used numerous aliases and also lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Anderson, South Carolina, according to officials.
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