VA. — Wally Thrasher got his nickname — The Squirrel — in high school, known for his ability to scurry his way through the football field to victory. A couple decades later, Thrasher would use those same scrappy skills to become one of the most notorious drug smugglers in the history of Virginia.
Thrasher made millions of dollars as an airplane pilot, smuggling marijuana into Florida and Virginia from foreign countries. He avoided law enforcement in plain sight with his uncommon tolerance for risk, until his illegally lavish lifestyle came to an end.
Thrasher disappeared in 1984 with the feds on his tail, believed to have died in a fiery plane crash in South America — but some authorities believe Thrasher merely faked his death, living off of the millions he made in the skies.
In this episode of True Crime 757, Margaret Kavanagh is joined by local author Ron Peterson Jr., author of "Chasing the Squirrel" — a book about the life and pursuit of Wally Thrasher that is being turned into a docuseries.
Watch the video above or listen below for the full episode.
