Cab ride stretches 2,200 miles from Everett, Wash., to Milwaukee
05/10/2004
Associated Press
What started out as just another early morning call for taxi driver Mark Forbes turned into a fare stretching some 2,300 miles from here to Milwaukee.
It would have been a mere 1,900 miles but for a detour through Milwaukie, Ore., a Portland suburb.
“When I look back at it, it was one of those cab rides that you think about, but you never realize it’s going to come true,” Forbes told The Herald of Everett. “I think every cab driver has a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”
The 62-year-old military veteran and former Colorado police officer was nearing the end of a 12-hour shift when he picked up two men at an Everett motel about 5:30 a.m. on April 10. Neither had any luggage.
The taller one asked to go to a Sikh temple near Seattle, about 25 miles to the south. He said both were from the Punjab region of India, that his friend spoke little English and that they worked as plumbers.
Forbes, a former plumber himself, started to talk the trade but drew a blank. “Weird,” he thought.
After they had gotten a few miles south, the passenger said they wanted to visit his brother in Milwaukee. The Oregon town of that name was about 200 miles farther south on Interstate 5.
About 15 minutes later, catching a glimpse of the downtown Seattle skyline, the passenger asked, “What city is that?” Forbes identified the place, figuring they were just unfamiliar with the area.
Along I-5, Forbes introduced himself and they did the same. Hearing Forbes trying to pronounce their names, the tall man suggested he be called “Tony Blair” and the other man “Joe.”
Once the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic got to Portland, the passengers used Forbes’ cellular telephone to call for the brother for directions that didn’t line up with the streets.
“Are there two Milwaukees?” the one called Blair asked.
“Yes,” Forbes said. “There’s another Milwaukee. In Wisconsin.”
“How much for you to take us there?”
Forbes said flying would be cheaper and called Amtrak, but the passengers insisted they didn’t want to catch a plane or train.
Figuring it had to be close to 2,000 miles to Milwaukee, the driver asked for $3,000, a discount from his normal rate of $1.60 a mile. The two agreed, saying they would pay in cash.
Forbes then called his dispatcher and told her his new destination.
“Have fun,” she said, then hung up and immediately called the FBI.
With a $500 down payment, Forbes filled his tank and bought a road atlas, some food and bottled water at The Dalles, Ore., about 85 miles east of Portland.
Without much of a radio and no tape deck, the driver talked about the passing scenery, towns, even crop rotation. The weather got colder and they stopped only to stretch, use the toilet and refuel the car.
After 13 hours of driving and 34 hours since he last slept, Forbes pulled over near the Utah-Wyoming border and the trio slept for about six hours in the cab.
Outside Lincoln, Neb., late on April 11, they got a couple of rooms at a motel and paid a visit to a Wal-Mart where they bought clothing and toiletries.
They were up at 9 a.m. the next day, dined on the motel’s complimentary breakfast and hit the road again, arriving in Milwaukee the evening of April 12.
In a second-floor floor apartment redolent with curry, half a dozen friends and relatives greeted the men and profusely thanked the driver. The brother of “Blair” paid the rest of the fare, $2,500, in $50 and $100 bills.
Back in the cab, Forbes answered his ringing cell phone. It was his boss, relieved to learn that he was OK — and that he had been paid. He also spoke with FBI agents from Milwaukee and Seattle and was interviewed in person by FBI agents from Chicago.
Before heading home, he bought a ticket for a friend, Cec Ramirez, to fly east and took her on a more leisurely drive with stops at such attractions as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.
FBI Agent Ray Lauer in Seattle said there was no indication the two passengers were being sought for any crimes.
“For $3,000 I’d take them to Wisconsin,” Lauer joked. “It’s not the strangest thing we’ve had foreigners come into this country and do.”
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