Banks told USA Today she was forced to omit aspects of Thorntons life that were too wild even for this movie. Nevertheless, the character is so outrageous that when star Keri Russell first brought the script home, her husband and fellow actor Matthew Rhys read it and immediately said, Text [Elizabeth] Banks and tell her I want to play that guy.. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Carmen Marine Kreutzer, age 79, of Commerce City, Colorado passed away on Thursday, April 27, 2023. The strange true story behind Cocaine Bear and Andrew Thornton - The Ludie believed inherently in the impact of giving back to the community and volunteered at Christus Spohn South and Driscoll Childrens Hospital. "I never saw any indication of innate motivation for his life on the razor's edge," Prichard says. Andrew Carter Thornton II (ACT II) is a name unknown to most except as a piece of historical trivia - the man who fell from the sky in 1985 with millions of dollars of cocaine strapped to his body. Try again later. His Army duffel bag contained 34 football-sized bundles of cocaine that were marked "USA 10. He bailed out of his aircraft and died on impact after his parachute failed to open. He had served six months in prison for allegedly piloting an airplane with a half-ton of marijuana aboard from South America to Kentucky in 1979 as part of a drug- and gun-importing and distribution ring. Immediate Family: Son of James Murray Thornton and Willa Mae Thornton. A visitation for Carmen will be held Thursday, May 4, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Olinger Patricia Aka Reynoso Mejia, Petra Reynoso, age 79, of Thornton, Colorado passed away on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Investigators were able to link Thornton to the Cessna when they found the planes keys in his pockets. cemeteries found in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. They Lived their 57 year marriage until his passing in 2016. September 11th: The Life & Death of Andrew C. Thornton II | by Sara Reynolds | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. Thorntons Cessna 404 was discovered 60 miles away in Hayesville, North Carolina. There is a problem with your email/password. Born in 1944, to a well-off family and raised on a thoroughbred farm in Bourbon County, Kentucky, he joined. He was wearing night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, and Gucci loafers. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhighland.com for the Valdez Sr. family. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhighland.com for the Graham Cynthia Ruth Atencio, age 67, of Denver, Colorado passed away on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. He was born in Lebanon, KY to Bertha and Andrew Thornton on December 8th, 1927. One case among the remaining 23 indictments was dismissed; the other defendants were either convicted or became government witnesses. Joseph Anderson Obituary - Thornton, CO - Dignity Memorial Altmeyer Funeral Home - Maestas Chapel After dropping 200 pounds of cocaine by parachute over Georgia, Thornton leapt from the aircraft over Tennessee and apparently became entangled in his own parachute. He was predeceased by : his grandfather Roger Thornton; and his aunt Rebecca Stone (Thornton). He was a philosophical, incredibly disciplined, extremely spiritual, and loyal warrior, with his own code of ethics, who thrived on excitement.. He was carrying a green Army duffel bag containing 88 pounds of cocaine valued at $15 million, $4,500 in cash, six 0.1 ounce gold Krugerrands (a South African gold coin that accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market by 1980), knives, and two pistols. Year should not be greater than current year. He considers it almost reasonable, suggesting that neither ever left the DEA but became smugglers to better infiltrate narcotics organizations. When asked about the incident involving Thornton, a DEA agent at the time was quoted as saying, there was cocaine literally falling from the sky. Duffel bags containing 220 pounds of 95% pure cocaine was still being recovered in Georgia after Thorntons death. Shirley Lou Brown, age 95, of Broomfield, Colorado passed away on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Clark Andrew Thornton died April 15, 2016, surrounded by his family. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. He also attended law school at night and received a law degree in 1976, though he never practiced law. [4] Thornton became caught in his parachute and ended up in a free fall to the ground. He returned to Kentucky to await trial, and on Feb. 27, 1982, three days before he was scheduled to appear for a hearing in Fresno, Thornton was shot twice in the chest at close range as he was leaving a Lexington restaurant. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Prichard and Thornton were fellow acolytes at St. Peter's Episcopal church and car-pooled to Sayre School. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. Thornton pleaded not guilty to the charges, then proceeded to flee the state. There was an error deleting this problem. As a policeman "Drew" arrested University of Kentucky students protesting the Vietnam war, and in the early 1970s he became a member of the Lexington police department's first narcotics squad, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration's regional office in Louisville. She was preceded in death by her parents, Reynaldo and Esperanza Abeto, her sister Teresita Dimalanta, and her husband, James Stephen Litz. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhighland.com for the Valdez Sr. family. Andrew Thornton was born on October 28, 1972 (age 50) in England. The man who informed Customs of Thornton's involvement with the Louisiana smuggling vessel had his throat slit in Miami. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. One read: "There is only one tactical principle not subject to change: it is to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.". RIP Drew, legends never die. Make sure that the file is a photo. Thats right. Andrew Tyler Drew Thornton, 19, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, passed away on August 27, 2021 at his residence. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Thornton's life began to take several directions. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. While awaiting trial in 1982 on his criminal charges, Thornton was shot twice in the chest at close range while leaving a restaurant in Lexington. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Pine Level P.H. Thornton, Tom Tom Thornton, age 71, of Saranac, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Saturday, September 12, 2020. The plane crashes when it runs out of fuel., Thats not exactly how it goes down in Cocaine Bear, though. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Try again. Thornton replied, she remembers, that he meditated regularly, at which time he entered a world beyond good and evil. Lourdes "Ludie" Abeto Litz Obituary - Corpus Christi Caller Times According to a Washington Post article published at the time of his death , he was awarded a purple heart for injuries he sustained during the U.S. invasion . And also way funnier.. The death that best summed up the contradictions of the sort of life Thornton led, all the philosophical and cultural reversals, was that of Harold Wade Brown, former head of the DEA office in Kentucky. After his apprehension, U.S. marshals transported Thornton to Fresno for his arraignment, where he posted $75,000 in cash and a $1 million personal surety bond, secured by his interest in three racehorses. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. "He was a little boy who never grew up," says an FBI agent investigating his death, who asked to remain nameless. A visitation will be held from 6-8pm on Monday, May 1st, 2023 at Seaside Funeral Home Chapel with a Rosary to be recited at 6:30pm that same evening. 0 cemeteries found in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, USA. "They were cowboys," said a friend of both Thornton and Brown, who asked that his name not be used. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Andrew is also survived by his grandparents, Debbie and Bill Frick, Mark Mohler, Pam and Jim Orr, Bob Thornton and Lydia Santili; great-grandparents, Xen and Janet Lemmon; aunt, Charlotte Paisley; and his uncles, Adam Mohler and Justin Thornton. Other items in the garment bag included clothes and a map of Jamaica. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. Andrew was the son of Alferino and Secundina DeHerrera from Roy, New Mexico. But the ill-fated flight of ex-narcotics-officer-turned-drug-smuggler Thornton, who tossed his stash overboard before leaping from the plane, was not only a true story, but also a more absurd one even by Cocaine Bear standards. Drug smuggling was a natural transition for him. The bluegrass hills were vibrant under the strong September sun as hundreds made their way past the Bourbon County gravesite. TOM THORNTON OBITUARY. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Thornton, Andrew Charles Milan, MI Infant son of Angie and Ron Thornton passed on Tuesday, October 14th. Ralph Ross, a retired Kentucky State Police officer formerly in charge of the state's intelligence division. Investigators found that he was carrying night-vision goggles and wearing a bulletproof vest, Time magazine reported. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Annette was a devoted mother and wife full of unconditional love and loyalty. She was preceded in death by her parents, Reynaldo and Esperanza Abeto, her sister Teresita Dimalanta, and her husband, James Stephen Litz. The day of the 1985 jump, he was flying from Colombia on a Cessna 404 loaded with cocaine. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. The bear, for example, simply died of an overdose in real life and did not go on a bloody, murderous rampage as in the film. He later transferred to Sawnee Military Academy. Thornton consistently maintained that nothing illegal occurred on his farm. Love you. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. [7], Three months later, a dead black bear, later known as the Cocaine Bear, that had apparently overdosed on cocaine dropped by Thornton, was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest.[8]. In some extreme cases, the crew members put the plane on automatic pilot, dump the drugs, and bail out, Times John S. Demott wrote in 1985. His death, however, makes for an interesting story on its own. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Son of the late Willie and Evelyn Thornton. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. [1], Four years later, he was among 25 men accused in Fresno, California, in a theft of weapons from the China Lake Naval Weapons Center and of conspiring to smuggle 1,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. She graduated from Rizal High School (Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines) and Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). Avenue Benot Frachon, 107, SaintMartind Heres Yandex Maps A celebration of life will be held for Drew on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 2pm at Altmeyer Funeral Home on Baltic Avenue in Virginia Beach, and will be limited to invited family and friends. Strapped to his body was an Army duffel bag containing "two pistols, knives and $4,500 in cash," and close to 80 pounds of cocaine worth at least $15 million.The story of Andrew C. Thornton II was examined in Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice and in Sally Denton's The Bluegrass Conspiracy. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas.
