By William A. Weathers
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LUDLOW - Life hasn't been the same since that October day when trucker Ron Lantz of Ludlow spotted a car at a Maryland rest stop matching the description of the one wanted in connection with the sniper shootings in the Washington area.

Ron Lantz on the front porch of his home in Ludlow. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

Relaxing recently on the front porch of his modest Poplar Street home, Lantz lamented how things are more hectic now than before he retired five months ago.

"I've been doing more work since I retired than when I was working," the 62-year-old former over-the-road truck driver said. Speaking engagements have taken him across the country.

Last Oct. 24, he became part of the biggest national news story at the time.

"I was just a guy who did my job," Lantz recalled. "Then this happened and everything changed."

Lantz was one of several people who called Maryland authorities that day to alert them to a car parked at an Interstate 70 rest stop that fit the description of the one wanted in the sniper shootings.

Lantz's actions - he also was one of several truckers who blocked the rest stop exit until police arrived and arrested the two suspects - brought him acclaim as a hero.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?

This periodic feature revisits past newsmakers. If you have a candidate for a story, call William A. Weathers at 768-8390, or e-mail bweathers@enquirer.com.

The suspects, Lee Boyd Malvo, 18, and John Muhammad, 42, are accused in at least 20 shootings, including 13 deaths, in Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Both could face the death penalty if convicted.

Since he retired on Dec. 20 after a 36-year career as a truck driver, Lantz has postponed plans to move with his wife, Ruth, to Florida because of his wife's bad health and the demands of newfound celebrity.

"I'm enjoying it," Lantz said of the dozens of speaking engagements. "I'm just going all over the country. I've been around to lots of schools and churches. I've been signing autographs. I'd like to have a dollar for every hand I've shaken in the last six months."

His new speaking career has already taken the grandfather to Louisville, West Virginia, Wilmington, Del., and Phoenix. Upcoming commitments will take him to Denver and Orlando.

"It's getting up toward a hundred, and there are a lot more to come," he said

Lantz said he never prepares remarks beforehand. He talks about his actions at the Maryland rest stop and about a prayer service he organized at another rest stop on Oct. 14, where dozens of truckers prayed for the capture of the sniper suspects terrifying the Washington, D.C., area.

The day after the snipers suspects' arrest, reporters from 18 television stations came to his secluded neighborhood seeking interviews. Still, it has been a positive experience, Lantz said.

"It's been a good thing. I got along real good with the media."

Lantz also devotes a lot of his "free" time to church activities. He's the director of the men's ministry at Central Church of the Nazarene in Fort Wright.

"That keeps me busy by itself, " Lantz said. "I'm a very strong church person."

And what about that $500,000 in reward money?

Authorities, who have not made a decision on who gets any of it, have said Lantz was not the first to call 911 to report the sighting of the sniper suspects' car at the rest stop, but that the reward money might be divided among all those who called with tips that helped police in the suspects' capture.

"I'm not worried about the reward," Lantz said.