Top 15 Most Wanted Has Connections to Panhandle
Will Air on Fox's AMW Saturday Evening 9/22

Panama City, FL – A convicted bank robber, who spent much of July in Panama City, following his reported heist of $57, 000 from a Raleigh, N.C., bank, has been added to the U.S. Marshals Service list of 15 Most Wanted Fugitives.

Anthony “Tony” Ray Artrip, 35, of Ashland, Ky., is wanted by U.S. Marshals in the Eastern District of Kentucky after escaping from the Grant County, Kentucky Detention Center, on June 24, 2007. On that evening, Artrip escaped through the roof of the prison facility and fled though a wooded area on foot. He was in jail awaiting sentencing in federal court for three counts of bank robbery, following a conviction in Ohio.

Anthony Ray Artrip was said to have spent much of July in Florida's Panama City hanging out on the beach with a nephew. Artrip reportedly cruised around the popular resort town in a red Dodge Stealth, frequenting tanning salons and taking snapshots of himself drinking at local bars and nightclubs. Deputy U.S. Marshal Kevin Raih of the Eastern District of Kentucky, stated that is how the 35-year-old spent the $57,000 he is charged with stealing July 2 from a bank in Raleigh, N.C.

"He was going to live large," Raih said after a Tuesday press conference in Williamstown, Kentucky promoting a $25,000 reward for Artrip's arrest. "That was a big heist."

• Panama City is one of eight communities where Artrip has been spotted since escaping June 24 from the Grant County jail and driving 3,087 miles around the eastern United States, said Raih, the chief investigator tracking Artrip. Along the way, Artrip is suspected of stealing $93,000 from five banks in West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Michigan. Artrip was last sighted by police in Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 11, 2007, but escaped after a vehicle pursuit. The last place Artrip was seen was robbing a bank in Mount Airy, North Carolina just a couple of days after the pursuit in Ashville. According to Deputy Raih, Artrip also likes the beachfront kinds of towns in Florida a lot.

“Anthony Ray Artrip is exceptionally dangerous. He is a federal fugitive who is not laying low, but continuing to commit violent crimes while on the run,” said United States Marshals Service Director John Clark. “By placing him on our 15 Most Wanted list, I have directed our investigators to use all resources to find and apprehend this dangerous criminal. From what we’ve seen since his escape, there is no indication that Artrip’s criminal activities are going to end. We need to put a stop to his crime spree.”

Artrip is a white male, approximately six-feet-tall and weighting 180 lbs. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Artrip has a scar on his forehead and a scar on his nose. He also has tattoos on his back, chest, right hand, and both arms. Also, Artrip seems to like to drive red cars, usually preferably newer Dodge models. If anyone has information as to the possible whereabouts of Artrip, please contact the U.S. Marshals Headquarters at 1-877-WANTED2 or the North Florida Violent Fugitive Task Force at 850-470-6308. For more information, go to the U.S. Marshals web site at www.usmarshals.gov.