Stardate 20011019.1256 (On Screen): It took more than 17 years to find
the Unabomber, and then it happened only because Ted Kaczynski's brother David recognized his brother's writing style and was a good enough man to go to the authorities. (Let us honor David for being as good a man as Ted was evil; a greater contrast between two men is hard to conceive.) The fact is that it is impossible to trace mail unless the person who sends it makes a mistake. Absent fingerprints or some other clue as to the source, there's nothing that can be done. Authorities are now trying to trace down the source of the letters which contained anthrax which seem to have been sent from Trenton, New Jersey. Two of the letters were mailed at the same place and time; the third probably was also but the letter in Florida was discarded before the people at American Media understood its significance. But that doesn't prove that the person who sent it lived in that neighborhood -- or even that they live in New Jersey at all. Ted Kaczynski sent his packages from all over the US. If whoever-it-is that sent the anthrax-contaminated letters is smart enough to culture the stuff and prepare these kinds of letters without getting the disease, then surely he also knows how to avoid putting fingerprints on the letters or leaving anything that could be traced, let alone being smart enough to drive to a mailbox. (And, indeed, the anthrax-comtaminated letter which was received in Nairobi was mailed from Atlanta.) I hope it won't take 17 years and numerous other people getting infected to find this guy, but it's unfortunately true that the way he'll probably be found is by someone recognizing his handwriting and identifying him to authorities.
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