'Most Wanted Domestic Terrorist' Still Hunted A Decade After Bay Area Bombings
SAN RAFAEL (KPIX 5) - Officers searched again Friday for a Berkeley man who was the first domestic terrorist added to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list more than a decade after he allegedly carried out a pair of Bay Area bombings.
Investigators went door-to-door in an affluent part of San Rafael Friday asking about sightings of Daniel San Diego. Police say he has family ties in the area and could be hiding out in Marin.
The animal rights activist is wanted in connection with a pair of 2003 bombings, one at an Emeryville biotech company known as Chiron Corp in August and a second in September at the Shaklee natural products corporation in Pleasanton.
"These were intended to cause damage to physical property and it would have been easy for innocent bystander to be caught by this powerful and destructive bomb," said FBI agent David Johnson while reviewing video footage of the Emeryville incident - which involved two explosions, about an hour apart.
Agents say San Diego is a member of an extreme animal rights group, and targeted the biotech companies for their connections with an animal testing lab.
San Diego's parents live in Marin County. His father was once a city manager, and agents don't know if he has been in contact.
"They're unaware of his current whereabouts…or they're not telling us where he is," said Johnson.
San Diego can be identified by distinctive tattoos, including an image of a burning hillsides on his chest and burning and collapsing buildings on his back and sides.
Another agency profiler speculates that he may be currently hiding out in Europe, Bolivia or Costa Rica – likely teaching or translating English.
"He has skills in computer networking…cooks vegan and vegetarian foods and has an interest in sailing," said Johnson.
After the bombing the FBI and other government agents had San Diego under surveillance, but he was able to slip away while in San Francisco.
San Diego is currently featured on a recently-developed website by law enforcement which identifies Northern California's most wanted suspects. A reward of up to $250,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
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