After 40 years of living as a ghost, a fugitive’s deadly past finally caught up with him in a remote New Mexico compound. Stephen Craig Campbell’s elaborate four-decade ruse as a dead man unraveled when authorities found him armed with a high-powered rifle and surrounded by an arsenal fit for a small militia.
At a Glance
- Stephen Craig Campbell, 76, was captured after evading authorities for over 40 years by assuming a dead college classmate’s identity
- Campbell was wanted for a 1982 bombing that injured his ex-wife, set two houses ablaze, and led to attempted murder charges
- After posting bail in 1982, he disappeared and assumed the identity of Walter Lee Coffman, fraudulently collecting $140,000 in Social Security benefits
- Authorities arrested Campbell at his New Mexico compound where they discovered 57 firearms and large amounts of ammunition
- The fugitive now faces federal fraud charges before being extradited to Wyoming to stand trial for the 1982 bombing
Four Decades on the Run
Stephen Craig Campbell spent nearly half a century as one of America’s most elusive fugitives after allegedly attempting to murder his ex-wife in a calculated attack. In 1982, Campbell booby-trapped a toolbox with explosives, causing a devastating blast that injured his former spouse and set two Wyoming houses ablaze. After being arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, Campbell posted bail and vanished without a trace.
The cunning fugitive had a carefully calculated escape plan. He assumed the identity of Walter Lee Coffman, a deceased college classmate, obtained a passport and Social Security card in Coffman’s name, and effectively became a ghost to the legal system that sought to bring him to justice.
Campbell’s decades-long deception allowed him to build an entirely new life. In 2003, he moved to the remote community of Weed, New Mexico, where he purchased property under his assumed identity. There, he lived as a recluse, rarely leaving his rural compound – a strategy that helped him avoid detection in an era before advanced facial recognition technology and modern digital surveillance.
While living as Coffman, Campbell illegally collected approximately $140,000 in Social Security benefits meant for his deceased identity donor. His scheme began to unravel in 2019 when authorities flagged fraudulent documents used to renew a driver’s license. The investigation eventually led to the discovery that the real Walter Lee Coffman had died years earlier, triggering a renewed hunt for the long-missing fugitive.
A multi-agency investigation involving the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Social Security Administration, and Customs and Border Protection finally tracked Campbell to his New Mexico hideout. When authorities closed in, they encountered Campbell armed with a high-powered rifle, leading to a tense standoff. Law enforcement used flash-bang devices to disorient the fugitive before successfully taking him into custody without firing a shot.
“The reality is that you’re not going to get away with a crime, especially of this nature. Even if it is 40 years later, we will find you,” Special Agent Bujanda said about the case.
A search of Campbell’s compound revealed a startling cache of 57 firearms and substantial ammunition – an arsenal that raised serious questions about his intentions had he not been apprehended. After his arrest, fingerprinting confirmed his true identity, closing one of the most significant fugitive cases in Wyoming law enforcement history.
It just goes to show…you really can’t escape the law!
