Gary Steven Krist (born April 29, 1945) is an American convicted of kidnapping and the trafficking of illegal aliens.

Early life

He was born in Aberdeen, Washington, on April 29, 1945, and grew up in

Pelican, Alaska Pelican ( tli, K'udeis'x̱'e) is a city in the northwestern part of Chichagof Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 88, down from 163 at the 2000 census. Geography ...

. He lived part of his childhood in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. His first recorded crime was a string of robberies at the age of 14, in 1959. He escaped with another prisoner from Deuel Vocational Institution, a California state prison, in November 1966, while serving a sentence for automobile theft; the other prisoner was killed during the attempt.

Mackle kidnapping

He is best known for kidnapping and burying heiress

Barbara Jane Mackle The 1968 kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle was the subject of an autobiographical book which was the basis of two television movies. Background Barbara Jane Mackle, aged 20 at the time of her kidnapping, was the daughter of Robert Mackle, a we ...

alive in a ventilated box in 1968. After receiving $500,000 in ransom money, he was captured and sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. While imprisoned, Krist wrote a book, ''Life: The Man Who Kidnapped Barbara Jane Mackle'', published in 1972.

Parole and medical practice

Krist was

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

d after serving 10 years and granted a pardon after he was accepted to medical school the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico so that he could become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. In December 2001, after his application to practice medicine in Alabama was rejected, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana granted him a probationary license, under which he was required to report to the board every six months and submit to psychiatric evaluation, and was prohibited from prescribing certain drugs. He practiced medicine in

Chrisney, Indiana Chrisney is a town in Grass Township, Spencer County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 481 at the 2010 census. History Chrisney was originally called Spring Station, and under the latter name was founded in about 1871 when the r ...

, until his medical license was revoked in 2003, as a result of not disclosing a

disciplinary action In a deliberative assembly, disciplinary procedures are used to punish members for violating the rules of the assembly. Codes and rules According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), discipline could include censure, fine, suspension ...

he had received during his

medical residency Residency or postgraduate training is specifically a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM or VMD) , dentist ( DDS or DMD) or podiatrist ( ...

Later crimes

Krist chartered a boat to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

in January 2006. When he returned on March 6, 2006, authorities were waiting for him and discovered four

illegal aliens Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

, who paid $6,000 each to come to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and 14 kilograms of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

in paste form valued at around

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1 million. He was arrested in

Point Clear, Alabama Point Clear is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Baldwin County, Alabama, Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 2,125. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley ...

, for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

to bring cocaine and illegal aliens into the United States. It was also discovered that he was running a cocaine operation in

Barrow County Barrow County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 83,505. The county seat is Winder. Barrow County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metr ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. On May 16, 2006, Krist pleaded guilty to

drug smuggling The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

; and, on January 19, 2007, he was sentenced to five years and five months in prison at the

Federal Correctional Institution The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College. The population was 6,102 at the 2010 census. In 2018 the estimated population was 7,091. The official nickname of Marianna is ...

. He was released from prison in November 2010. On August 27, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama, U.S. District Judge Callie V. Granade revoked Krist's supervised release for violating his probation. He had left the country without permission, sailing to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and South America on his

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

. Judge Granade sentenced Krist to 40 months imprisonment.06-057 - USA V. KRIST ET AL
U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved April 19, 2014.

References

External links