FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ For decades, authorities have wanted to nab an airline mechanic they say played a role in a 1996 plane crash in the Everglades that killed all 110 aboard.
On Thursday, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for the capture of Mauro Ociel Valenzuela-Reyes, a mechanic who worked for ValuJet Airlines' maintenance contractor, SabreTech.
He was facing federal criminal charges in 1999 when he vanished. "He fled before trial," FBI Miami Special Agent Jacqueline Fruge said in a news release.
ValuJet Flight 592 departed from Miami International Airport on May 11, 1996, and a fire happened in the plane's cargo area soon after. The plane tried to return to the airport, but instead crashed in the Everglades.
Valenzuela-Reyes was charged in the alleged mishandling and packaging of oxygen generators that were in the plane's cargo hold, according to the FBI. The generators, which were missing safety caps, ignited, leading to the crash, the agency said.
In addition to the $10,000 reward, the FBI also released a wanted poster that shows an array of photos of Valenzuela-Reyes, including what he might look like today.
In 2016, the FBI reminded the public that Valenzuela-Reyes still wasn't in custody. He has links to Atlanta, where his ex-wife and kids have lived, as well as Santiago, Chile, where the FBI says his family lives. The FBI said he may be living there under a false name.
"We've tried over the years to find him," Fruge said of the case, according to the news release. "It bothers me. I've lived and breathed it for many, many years."
Two other SabreTech employees were charged in the case but won acquittals, the FBI said. Valenzuela-Reyes would face charges stemming from the crash as well as charges for fleeing and failing to appear at trial.
