Prisoner escaped in '85 and is still free

It's not the kind of anniversary anyone celebrates — except maybe one man.

Twenty years ago today, Lyndal Ritterbush escaped from the Utah State Prison. It wasn't the kind of breakout anyone would make a movie about. It was kind of quiet.

Ritterbush, then 40, and another inmate were assigned to drive to the prison dairy to pick up a delivery. The two men left the truck near some barns and walked away through some nearby fields. The other man was later captured.

But Ritterbush has never been found.

After celebrating his 60th birthday on March 29, Ritterbush may look much older than his 1984 booking photo, the most recent one the Utah Department of Corrections has of him.

At least one man would like to be around for a Ritterbush celebration. It's Chris Lane, an investigator with the Utah Department of Corrections' law enforcement bureau.

Lane maintains the department's Most Wanted Web site and updates it with the latest parolees who abscond from supervision. There are two escapees listed there: Ritterbush and Robert Jackson, now 71, who escaped in May 1981.

It seems unlikely the department will find Ritterbush, Lane says, though it's not impossible.

"That's why we leave him on the Web site," he said.

Ritterbush has had 20 years to change his name to Dale Ritter, Dale Robinson, Dale Robertson, Dale Ritterbush or any other conceivable name.

He's had 20 years to go to Alaska, Canada, Idaho, Wyoming or Utah — places to which authorities believe he may have ties — or any conceivable place.

In short, finding an escapee in the United States is hard.

Lane says he makes periodic checks of Utah's criminal justice database and can run vehicle registrations to see if Ritterbush uses his real name.

"That's all you can do," Lane said, adding it would take a stroke of luck to find Ritterbush.

Ritterbush, originally from Chadron, Neb., was arrested in Roy in 1982 for incest, for which he was convicted and sent to prison. While on parole in 1984, Ogden police arrested him for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. He was convicted and sent back to Draper.

While in the sixth month of a 5-years-to-life sentence, he was in a minimum security facility and had earned the privilege of driving a dairy truck.

Then came the day he parked the delivery truck and quietly slipped away.

Lane is proud to say there hasn't been an escape from within the prison for 10 years. But inmates on work crews walk away from time to time. Most of them are caught, he said.

In March, 15 inmates were listed on the department's Web site, www.cr.ex.state.ut.us, and eight of them were picked up. The list is updated each week, Lane said.

Various rewards have been offered for information leading to Ritterbush's return. He has been on the FBI's most wanted list and is an experienced truck driver, diesel mechanic, salesman and ranch hand. He stands 5 feet 9 inches, weighed 175 pounds and has blue eyes. A $100 reward is available. Lane can be contacted at 545-5551.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com