</s>OPTIONAL FORM NO. 10 GSA (P.P.A.) (C.T.O.P.) (CTP) 1814-16 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. Memorandum To S&G (H-14-1368) DATE: 4/30/68 FROM : SA JAMES L. O'CONNOR MURKIN SUBJECT: Re Bureau tel to all SACS 4/29/68. Law enforcement agencies in their territories which maintain above referenced tel all SATs that all offices having unidentified latent fingerprints in connection with matters under their jurisdiction should immediately contact these under their jurisdictions should immediately Contact these agencies as request that the fingerprints of subject JAMES EARL RAY and set forth on the 10482 of compared with latents obtained as escape from Missouri State Penitentiary on 1/23/67. Each SRA is requested to determine those law enforcement agencies within his respective RA territory which maintain undentified latent fingerprints and make and make the request of the law enforcement agencies as set forth in above-mentioned tel from the Bureau. The Harrisburg RA, in addition, is requestedto contact the PSP at Harrisburg relative to the above-mentioned request from the Bureau. ARMED AND DANGEROUS 1-U-1-368 1- Each SAA JL/0/mVB (16) 14/12/18-281 SEARCHED M.C.FILLED SERIALIZED FR 30/91968 FBL-PHILADELPHIA Feyghley 100 Buy U.S. Savings Bonds Regularly on the Payroll Savings Plan 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.0. 141476

Summary  
The documents detail FBI efforts in April 1968 to track James Earl Ray, a suspect linked to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., by comparing his fingerprints with latent prints collected after his escape from Missouri State Penitentiary on January 23, 1967. Law enforcement agencies were instructed to investigate sightings of an individual matching Ray’s physical description in Pennsylvania: a man in his late 30s, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a blue plaid sport shirt, and driving a green Rambler with Pennsylvania license plates SM2-358. Witnesses noted the man had a slight Southern accent, brownish hair with a cowlick, and a turned nose. A license plate (J07-855) was recorded during an encounter in Manchester, PA, where the individual entered a light-colored car. Vehicle registration checks confirmed the Rambler was not stolen.  

The second document is an administrative memorandum dated May 1968 from the FBI regarding James Earl Ray’s National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) policy application. It details Ray’s attempt to secure a $10,000 term NSLI policy at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on February 21, 1969, with his date of birth listed as February 16, 1941, and beneficiary as his mother, Mary At, residing at 538 Broadway, Alton, Illinois. Ray’s military service is noted as occurring between October 1960 and June 1962 under serial number 19/16, with monthly insurance premiums paid from his military pay until March 31, 1947 (likely a typographical error for 1967). His NSLI policy lapsed on May 21, 1967. The Veterans Administration (VA) last contacted Ray on July 25, 1950, sending him a $82.50 special dividend, with his address at 215 Oak St., Quincy, Illinois. The VA file was closed after this contact.  

Key People  
- James Earl Ray (suspect in MLK’s assassination)  
- SA James L. O’Connor (FBI agent coordinating fingerprint comparisons)  
- George H. Keenan (FBI agent involved in witness reports)  
- Robert C. Kearney (FBI agent handling vehicle and license plate inquiries)  
- David Frame (witness who identified the suspect in Carlisle, PA)  
- Mary At (Ray’s mother, listed as beneficiary of NSLI policy)  
- J.C. Bann, F. N. Maughlin (VA contacts referenced in NSLI documentation)  

Key Locations  
- Carlisle, PA (tavern where suspect was sighted)  
- Harrisburg, PA (PSP contact referenced)  
- Philadelphia, PA (FBI office involved in vehicle checks)  
- Manchester, PA (location of ice cream purchase and license plate observation)  
- Fort Sheridan, Illinois (site of NSLI policy application)  
- Alton, Illinois (residence of Mary At)  
- Quincy, Illinois (address listed for VA contact)  

Key Events  
- FBI request for fingerprint comparisons with James Earl Ray’s prints  
- Witness accounts of a man matching Ray’s description in Pennsylvania  
- Vehicle registration checks confirming the Rambler was not stolen  
- License plate J07-855 recorded during an encounter in Manchester, PA  
- NSLI policy application by James Earl Ray at Fort Sheridan, Illinois  
- Military service records for James Earl Ray (October 1960–June 1962)  
- VA insurance premium payments and file closure after 1950 contact  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- State Police (PSP) of Pennsylvania  
- Veterans Administration (VA)  
- National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) program

MLK Declassified Files

44-ph-1368_sec_004_ser_175-289-part_7_of_7.pdf

Document Summary

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