Violent Fugitive, Suspected In Radioactive Oilfield Waste Dumping, Sought

BILLINGS, MT — Federal authorities are seeking a violent fugitive who escaped custody four years ago and was allegedly paid to unlawfully dump radioactive oilfield waste.

James Kenneth Ward was indicted in April in a Montana federal court on wire fraud charges. A company paid him to dump hundreds of pieces of radioactive oil field waste — known as filter socks — used to strain the sometimes-radioactive fluids that are produced during oil and gas exploration, authorities said. Rather than bringing the socks to a licensed landfill, prosecutors alleged that Ward dumped them inside a vacant North Dakota gas station.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Ward is considered violent and dangerous and should not be approached. (For more information on this and other Billings stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Ward was born in Hamilton, Montana, authorities said, but most recently lived in Saint Anthony, Idaho. He has a tattoo on his right arm and a scar from a stab wound on the left side of his chest.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact Robert Marsden at 406-670-0992.

Photo credit: Screenshot of wanted poster provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION