A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known as a wanted person, can be a person who is either convicted or accused of a crime and hiding from law enforcement in the state or taking refuge in a different country in order to avoid arrest.
Fugitives are often profiled in the media in order to be apprehended, such as in the TV show America's Most Wanted.
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary, although it is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and operates under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General. It is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the "Office of the United States Marshal". The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to U.S. Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Morgan Earp in an 1881 photograph
U.S. marshals accompanying James Meredith to class
Marshals escort six-year-old Ruby Bridges from school.
Bat Masterson (standing second from right), Wyatt Earp (sitting second from left), and other deputy marshals during the Wild West era