Former Conrad judge and cyber sleuth Shannen Rossmiller is vying for the title of Reader's Digest Hero of the Year for her efforts to catch terrorists. Laid up with a broken hip, Rossmiller began her mission in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks. The married mother of three spends the early morning hours logged onto Arabic Web sites, posing as an angry Middle Eastern man.
At first, she relied on translation software she purchased, but eventually she learned Arabic, reading more than 50 books on the Middle East, including the Koran. The research helped her establish contacts among the mujahedin, a brotherhood fighting for jihad. When a Pakistani arms dealer offered to sell her U.S. Stinger missiles, she turned the information over to the FBI. She has been classified as an official FBI intelligence asset for more than three years. By her count, she has given the FBI more than 200 packets of information on terrorism trends and potential suspects. At least eight have been arrested.
Rossmiller, who was the city judge in Conrad, retired from the bench in 2006 to work as a senior civil litigation specialist for the Montana Attorney General. She continues to hunt terrorists on the Internet, without a salary. She also travels the country as a professional speaker and has been featured in the Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, the Today Show and ABC's Good Morning America.
The 2008 winner, determined by Internet votes, will be announced at a special ceremony in April. To vote for Rossmiller or learn more about her competition, go (here). |