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Highway Watch Seeks Armed Suspect at Iowa, Missouri Truckstops

Highway Watch has issued a formal Be On the Lookout (BOLO) requesting assistance from members of the trucking and law enforcement community to assist in finding a man suspected of sexual assault/abuse of a minor child.

by Staff
July 20, 2007
Highway Watch Seeks Armed Suspect at Iowa, Missouri Truckstops

 

2 min to read


Highway Watch has issued a formal Be On the Lookout (BOLO) requesting assistance from members of the trucking and law enforcement community to assist in finding a man suspected of sexual assault/abuse of a minor child.


The person in question, Russell Eugene Blessman, is considered armed and dangerous and is known to frequent truckstops. He is described as standing 6-foot, 3-inches tall, weighing 360 pounds with light-colored eyes, light brown hair and may be wearing a light-colored moustache.
The BOLO has been sent to more than 600,000 Highway Watch members nationwide in response to an alert created by the U.S. Marshals-Polk County Sheriff's Violent Fugitive Task Force for the Southern District of Iowa. It provides a detailed description of Blessman, along with a photo and his suspected whereabouts. Highway Watch members who come into contact with Blessman are warned against taking any action to apprehend or confront him and instead are encouraged to immediately contact law enforcement.
"This BOLO is another great example of the way Highway Watch is partnering with law enforcement and homeland security agencies to keep America safe and secure," said Prasad Sharma, Executive Director of Highway Watch.
Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Highway Watch trains highway professionals to identify and report safety and security concerns on the nation's roads. The program prepares hundreds of thousands of transportation professionals to respond in the event they or their cargo are the target of a terrorist attack and to share valuable intelligence with Homeland Security if they witness potential threats.
Anyone with information about Blessman's whereabouts should contact local law enforcement or call the Highway Watch ISAC at (866) 821-3444 or e-mail TSOC.HighwayWatchISAC@tsa.dhs.gov.

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