Former Olympic snowboarder now one of FBI’s Most Wanted with shocking $10M reward
From Olympic glory to the FBI’s Most Wanted list – the shocking fall of a snowboarding champion.
When Ryan Wedding represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, few could have predicted his dramatic transformation from celebrated athlete to one of the world’s most wanted criminals.
The U.S. Department of State has just announced a staggering $10 million reward for information leading to Wedding’s capture – one of the largest bounties ever offered for a fugitive outside of terrorism cases.
What could possibly warrant such an enormous sum? Authorities say the 43-year-old former Olympian isn’t just any criminal – he’s allegedly the mastermind behind a massive international drug empire that has left a trail of bodies in its wake.
Wedding, who once thrilled crowds with his snowboarding skills in Salt Lake City, is now known by a very different set of names in the criminal underworld – “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy.”
The former athlete’s alleged criminal enterprise is staggering in scope. According to federal authorities, Wedding’s organization routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada and other U.S. locations.
But it’s not just drug trafficking that has authorities desperate to find him. Wedding is accused of ordering multiple murders to eliminate competitors and maintain his drug empire’s dominance.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets,” said FBI Assistant Director Akil Davis in a chilling statement about the fugitive’s transformation.
The FBI has now added Wedding to their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, putting him in the company of some of history’s most notorious criminals. In addition to the State Department’s $10 million reward, the FBI is offering an additional $50,000 for information leading to his arrest.
While Wedding’s second-in-command, Andrew Clark, was recently captured and extradited to the U.S., the Olympic snowboarder-turned-alleged-drug-lord remains at large. Authorities believe he may be hiding in Mexico, though they haven’t ruled out his presence in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, or Costa Rica.
The case represents one of the most dramatic falls from grace in Olympic history. Wedding competed honorably for his country, placing 24th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Olympics, only to allegedly spend the next two decades building a billion-dollar cocaine operation responsible for multiple murders.
If convicted on the murder and drug trafficking charges, Wedding faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison.
The question on everyone’s mind: How does someone go from representing their country on the world stage to becoming one of the FBI’s most wanted criminals? And with $10 million on the line, who will be the one to finally bring him to justice?
