Agents Search for Bombing Witness

Dozens of federal agents searched Franklin, a remote region of the southern Appalachian Mountains, for a man they believe could help them locate the bomber of an abortion clinic. The man being sought, Eric Robert Rudolph, was wanted as a witness and not as a suspect in the fatal bombing in Birmingham, Ala., U.S. Atty. Doug Jones said. A pickup truck registered to Rudolph, 31, was seen near the site of the bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and critically injured a nurse. The homemade bomb blew up the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic a week after the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. The search was centered in North Carolina’s extreme western tip, in Macon County, which includes Franklin, and in Cherokee County, which includes the town of Marble, Rudolph’s last known address. The blast killed Robert D. Sanderson, 35. Emily Lyons, 41, a nurse and counselor at the clinic, suffered injuries to her legs, abdomen, a hand and her face. Her husband, Jeff Lyons, said she was in critical condition and on a respirator. She lost her left eye and her right eye is badly damaged. “I just hope she can see again,” he said.