FBI still searching for suspects in 25-year-old Arizona train derailment case

PHOENIX — In October 1995, an Amtrak passenger train derailed around 1:30 a.m. in a remote desert area 70 miles outside of Phoenix.

Twenty-five years later, the FBI is still looking to make an arrest, offering up to $310,000 in reward money in exchange for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the crash.

“A hallmark of the FBI is that we don’t forget,” Sean Kaul, special agent in charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office, said in a press release. “There were children onboard the train as young as nine-months-old, an innocent man lost his life, and many others were injured.”

The Amtrak Sunset Limited was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, with 258 passengers onboard when it veered off an altered track and crashed into a ravine.

Approximately 100 passengers suffered minor injuries from the crash, while 12 sustained serious injuries and one Amtrak employee died.

“For 25 years the victims of this crime, their family, and friends have suffered. We will continue to aggressively pursue this investigation, for as long as it takes. We are determined to seek justice for the victims of this senseless crime,” Kaul said.

The ongoing investigation has been a joint effort of the FBI, Amtrak Police Department, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Anyone with information about the derailment is urged to report it to the FBI Phoenix Field Office at 623-466-1999 or tips.fbi.gov.