Palin could have seen 31-year fugitive from her backyard

Joseph Welch has discovered that you can run from the law but you can't hide forever, even if you head for the Last Frontier. The jailbird was arrested in Seldovia, Alaska, this week after 31 years on the run from Wyoming authorities. The 57-year-old fugitive, convicted of robbery and forgery in 1980, made his daring escape a year later while being transferred to a state hospital for drug rehab and settled down in Wasilla.

More surprised than Welch of his sudden recapture: his wife, Donna, who had no idea her husband was a wanted felon. Although divorce was already on the cards for other reasons, Donna stands by her man. "I'm not going to leave him hanging," she says.