The Joseph Palczynski Story

Pat Long was beside herself. Police and FBI agents were everywhere, looking for her son. Where was he?

Long didn't like to think of him out in the woods by himself; she knew how much he hated to be alone. She couldn't fathom the pain and destruction her child had caused in his murderous rampage. She could, however, imagine the degree of his desperation. And she shivered at the thought of what he might do next.

She went on television to beg her son to surrender: "When you hurt people, you hurt me. You can't do this to me anymore!" She also left a message on her answering machine:

"Joseph, this is Mom. Please don't do anything wrong anymore, please. I don't want you killed. I don't want to see you die, and I know you said you'd kill yourself before you'd get back. ... Turn yourself in. Please, Joseph, please."

Hundreds of law enforcement officers with bloodhounds and a robot searched woods and storm drains in what would become Baltimore County's most extensive manhunt. Police advisers were trying to predict Palczynski's next move, and citizens flooded a special hotline with sightings of the fugitive. People were buying baseball bats and extra ammunition for their guns. Some parents kept their children home from area schools. The search was making national and international news. And the longer it went on, the more it acquired the mythic sheen of the hunt for Eric Rudolph, the anti-abortion bombing suspect who since 1998 had eluded capture with his survivalist skills.

But those who knew Joby knew better. Despite his public persona as a rugged guy, Palczynski's camping experience was basically confined to sleeping in a tent in the woods on his mother's property. He was less likely to hide in the great outdoors than in the bushes of suburban ranchers. He knew how to track people, how to accost them unexpectedly.

With Palczynski on the loose, police offered protection to several families who worried he might come after them. Among them was Gary Osborne. In 1996, Palczynski was convicted of beating Osborne's daughter, Michella, but only after months of harassing her father. Trying to force the Osbornes to drop their charges, he had persuaded friends to file false reports resulting in Gary Osborne's arrest.

Now Michella's father predicted what Palczynski might do next: When Joby can't get the girl he wants, he told police, he goes after the parents.