© Getty Images

Roots -

Before bounty hunters as we know them today, there used to be slave catchers, whose job it was to track down and return escaped slaves.

© Public Domain

Legal -

Bounty hunters have been part of the US law enforcement system since 1873.

© Shutterstock

Bounty hunter -

Today they are private agents working for bail bonds. A bounty hunter's job is to capture fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. Now, let's look at some of the most famous bounty hunters in history.

© Getty Images

Pat Garrett -

Pat Garrett is an Old West legend. He is known for being the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. But he's even more famous for hunting down a very high-profile criminal: the one and only Billy the Kid.

© Getty Images

Pat Garrett -

In the 1880s, New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace offered a US$500 reward for Billy, but Sheriff Garret never saw the money, as he didn't capture him. Instead, Garrett killed him.

© Getty Images

Mickey Free -

Felix Telles was kidnapped by Apaches as a child, and later went on to join the United States Army's Apache scouts. He earned the nickname of Mickey Free because of his skills as a scout.

© Public Domain

Mickey Free -

Mickey Free became a successful bounty hunter. He was responsible for tracking down the Apache Kid (pictured), earning him US$15,000.

© Public Domain

Charlie Siringo -

Charlie Siringo was a bounty hunter and private detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago. He worked across the country and became known as the "Cowboy Detective."

© Public Domain

Charlie Siringo -

Siringo worked on many high-profile cases, and at one point he even infiltrated the infamous Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. "I closed the Union Pacific train robbery case after having traveled more than 25,000 miles by rail, vehicles, afoot, and on horseback, and after being on the operation constantly for about four years. The 'Wild Bunch' during these four years were pretty well scattered, many being put in their graves and others in prison," he wrote.

© Public Domain

James Kirker -

Of the many jobs James Kirker had, the one that he's most famous for, was as a scalp hunter for the Mexican government.

© Public Domain

James Kirker -

The Mexican state of Chihuahua offered a bounty on Apache scalps, and Kirker took the job. That is until the Mexicans couldn't afford his services and he had to flee Mexico.

© Public Domain

Domino Harvey -

Domino Harvey (pictured as a child) decided to quit her life as a model in the UK and move across the Atlantic to become a bounty hunter. She was one of the few female bail recovery agents working at the time, and enjoyed a very successful career.

© Getty Images

Domino Harvey -

The movie 'Domino' (2005), starring Keira Knightly, was inspired by Domino Harvey's life. Unfortunately, she passed away just a couple of months before the movie came out.

© Getty Images

Dottie Thorson and Ken Barras -

Dottie Thorson was married to the famous bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson. Dottie took over the job after her husband was killed by a car bomb in 1994.

© Getty Images

Dottie Thorson and Ken Barras -

Thorson's son, Ken Barras, is also a bounty hunter. Her life inspired the 2000 TV show 'The Huntress.' Before that, her late husband was the inspiration for the 1980 movie 'The Hunter,' starring Steve McQueen.

© Getty Images

Leonard Padilla -

Leonard Padilla is another famous bounty hunter. He opened a bail bonds company in Sacramento, California, in the '70s, and the rest is history.

© Getty Images

Leonard Padilla -

In the early '80s, he opened the Lorenzo Patiño School of Law. Throughout his career, Leonard Padilla has run for public office several times.

© Getty Images

David Schultz -

David Schultz, also known as Dr. D, pursued a career as a professional bounty hunter after he retired from pro wrestling.

© Public Domain

Morgan Spurlock -

You probably recognize Morgan Spurlock's face from documentaries such as 'Super Size Me' (2004). But there's more to him.

© Getty Images

Morgan Spurlock -

Spurlock is more than just a filmmaker. He also showed off his bounty-hunting skills in 'Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?' (2008).

© Getty Images

Duane Chapman -

Duane Lee Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, is probably the most well-known bounty hunter in the world, thanks to his reality TV show, which ran from 2003 to 2012.

© Getty Images

Duane Chapman -

Duane Lee Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, is probably the most well-known bounty hunter in the world, thanks to his reality TV show, which ran from 2003 to 2012.

© Getty Images

Duane Chapman -

Perhaps his most famous case was the capture of Max Factor heir (and convicted sex offender) Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003. Luster had fled the country in the middle of his trial, but Chapman managed to track him down and bring him to justice.

© Getty Images

Beth Chapman -

Not only was Beth Chapman Dog's wife, but she was also his business partner. Indeed, she was a successful bounty hunter and TV personality.

© Getty Images

Beth Chapman -

Beth Chapman sadly passed away on June 26, 2019, the victim of cancer. She was 51.

© Getty Images

Leland Chapman -

Leland followed his father's footsteps and also became a bail bondsman and bounty hunter.

© Getty Images

Leland Chapman -

He started his career in the family's bail bonds company, Da Kine Bail Bonds, and never looked back.  He now also runs his own company, Kama'aina Bail Bonds.

Sources: (List25) (Ranker) (History)

See also: Prison break: insane inmate escapes

© Getty Images