Do You Recognize Any of Idaho’s 9 Most Wanted Criminals?

Every few months, we share the photos of the Idaho Department of Correction’s “Most Wanted” fugitives. They have an extremely skilled fugitive recovery unit that works closely with other agencies to capture offenders, but they can always benefit from extra eyes. 

In fact, that’s exactly how the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office was able to track down one of the faces that’s appeared on this list regularly since January 2022. Brian Joseph Fatten was on parole for the kidnapping and sexual assault of an female when he suddenly abandoned his parole supervision and vanished.

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According to his profile on the Idaho Department of Correction’s website, he was known to work as an off the books handyman and drink heavily. Fatten was sentenced to life for the kidnapping charges in 1997.

After two years on the run, someone recognized Fatten and submitted a tip to Idaho Crime Stoppers. Thanks to that citizen tip, the Owyhee County Sheriff’s as able to find him and bring him into custody on August 23, 2024. According to their Facebook post about the arrest, Fatten has been using the fake name “Brian Smith.” 

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Not only was the name not super creative, it landed him an additional charge of “providing false information to officers” now that he’s back in custody. 

With some help from a quick thinking citizen and the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office, IDOC is able to cross Fatten off their “Most Wanted” list but there are still nine more criminals on the run that they’re looking for. Do you recognize any of them?

If you do, you can submit a web tip through their Fugitive Recovery page. You can do that anonymously, but providing your name and contact information may be more effective, as an investigator can follow up with you. They will keep your identity secret and it will NOT be part of reports or information given to the public.