I am pleased to announce that my newest book, The Last Stop: The Final Capture of Ted Bundy, is now available on Amazon.
Most people know how the Ted Bundy story ended. Far fewer know how the end actually began. In the early morning hours of February 15, 1978, Pensacola Police Officer David Lee noticed an orange Volkswagen moving through the city. What began as an ordinary encounter on a dark Pensacola street would soon become one of the most significant arrests in American criminal history.
The man behind the wheel was wanted. But David Lee had no idea just how badly he was wanted. David was simply doing what he did best, protecting the people of Pensacola. No flash. No drama. Just protection.
The driver was Theodore Robert Bundy, an escaped fugitive who had already left a trail of death across the country. His days of running were about to end, not in Washington, Utah, Colorado, or Tallahassee, but on the streets of Pensacola, Florida.
For nearly half a century, the Ted Bundy story has been retold so many times that the man himself has sometimes disappeared behind the mythology. Books, movies, documentaries, and television programs have repeatedly emphasized the supposedly charming, handsome, clever criminal who fooled almost everyone around him. With each retelling, Bundy has sometimes been transformed from a desperate predator into something approaching a dark American celebrity.
The Last Stop takes a different view.
It strips away the mythology. Bundy preyed upon women when he believed he possessed the advantage. He used deception, surprise, impersonation, violence, and vulnerability to control his victims. That was not strength.
And on a dark Pensacola street, he finally encountered someone he could not control.
When Officer David Lee attempted to arrest him, Bundy resisted. He fought. He ran.
And he lost.
There was no movie-star criminal mastermind standing on that Pensacola Street that morning. There was a desperate fugitive trying one last time to escape the consequences of what he had done.
David Lee stopped him.
The Last Stop tells the story of Bundy’s final flight, his arrival in Pensacola, the stolen orange Volkswagen, the police encounter that followed, his arrest, and the remarkable process through which authorities finally discovered the identity of the mysterious prisoner sitting in the Pensacola jail.
This isn’t a book about glorifying Ted Bundy. It’s a book about catching him. A dark Pensacola street. An orange Volkswagen. A police car pulling in behind it. A traffic stop.
And two men who had never met before. One was still trying to run from what he had done. The other was about to make sure he never ran again.
Bundy didn’t know it then, but he soon found out…WRONG TOWN, TED.
📚 The Last Stop: The Final Capture of Ted Bundy
Michael Earl Simmons
Available now on Amazon.
On Thursday, November 12, 2026, Michael Earl Simmons will tell the story about Ted Bundy at SWEET TEA MURDERS LIVE THE LAST STOP: THE FINAL CAPTURE OF TED BUNDY. the Pensacola Museum of Commerce. This event will include never-before-presented information about the actual encounter Bundy had with the man who defeated the killer on a quiet neighborhood street in Pensacola. Go to sweetteamurders.com/events/ for more information. Stay tuned for ticket information.
About Michael Earl Simmons
Michael Earl Simmons is a retired Pensacola police officer, former homicide detective, police historian, and true-crime author. During his 30-year career with the Pensacola Police Department, he served in numerous assignments, including Crimes Against Persons. Today, he researches and tells the stories of the crimes, officers, investigators, and events that helped shape Northwest Florida history. Simmons is founder and president of the Pensacola Police Historic Society and creator of Sweet Tea Murders, a historical true-crime storytelling series featuring books, walking tours, and LIVE events.
