Edward Eugene Harper (born March 1, 1946)[1] is an American former fugitive who was wanted for sex crimes against children committed in 1993 and 1994.

[4] He reportedly subscribed to the Sovereign Citizen Movement ideology and claimed to be a member of the Montana Freemen, although authorities have never been able to confirm his affiliation with the group.

[4] Harper was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder by a behavioral psychologist in Mississippi, shortly after his 1994 arrest.

Harper is described as a survivalist, who has lived outside of modern society, but according to FBI Special Agent Ryan Arton he "could distinguish right from wrong".

[4] In 1993, Harper, who was forty-eight years old, lived with his eighteen-year-old wife, Debra Busby,[5] in a trailer park in DeSoto County, Mississippi.

[6] According to Arton, the FBI Special Agent, Harper and his then-19-year-old wife began to look after one of his victims, a three-year-old girl, whose homeless mother could not take care for her.

[7] After the raid, a highway officer in Utah performed a routine traffic stop and pulled over Harper and his wife.

[9] He would make trips to buy groceries and tobacco to the general store in Kaycee, which was said to be the nearest town to his camp.