BELLEVUE, Wash. – It's taken nearly 60 years, but a convicted killer who skipped out on his parole has been found, thanks to the persistence of the victim's grandson.
Clarence Pellett was murdered in Montana in 1951 by Frank Dryman, a.k.a. Victor Houston.
"My grandfather tried to run away. He shot him then he walked up to the body and emptied the gun into him," said Dr. Clem Pellett, Clarence's grandson, who is an oral surgeon in Bellevue.
Dryman served 15 years for the murder. He was paroled in 1969 and then vanished. Clem hired a private detective to track Dryman down.
"I was searching for the answer of what happened. It started to take on that, all of a sudden, I was searching for him," said Clem.
Dryman was picked up Tuesday at his home in Arizona. He was living in and running the Cactus Rose Wedding Chapel in Arizona City. Police were able to identify him by tattoos on his body.
"I'd like to talk to him. What happens to him is up to the justice system.
That's not my call," said Clem. "He's 78-years-old. I just have no animosity towards him at this point."
Dryman will be sent back to the Montana Department of Corrections. He'll likely be headed back to prison for violating his parole.
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