Gary Faulkner, Osama bin Laden Hunter: Where Is He Now?

Gary Faulkner was just one of a host of people who momentarily grabbed the spotlight in 2010 and dominated a news cycle or two while getting their 15 minutes of fame. In this series, AOL News is checking in on 25 of these newsmakers and giving them a 16th minute.

This Jan. 2006 photo provided Tuesday, June 15, 2010 by the Larimer County, Colo. Sheriff's Office shows Gary Brooks Faulkner, after he was arrested on a Compulsory Insurance charge.

Larimer County Sheriff's Office / AP

Colorado's Gary Faulkner was dubbed "the Rocky Mountain Rambo" by the media.

Gary Brooks Faulkner Made News in 2010 When He: Took it upon himself to hunt down Osama bin Laden -- alone.

The Full Story: Faulkner was arrested in June trying to cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan in an attempt to single-handedly kill bin Laden. (And how did you spend your summer vacation?) He had no military training and was not a hired mercenary (that we know of). Rather, he was just an unemployed construction worker from Colorado with a strong Christian faith, a beard and a big sword intended to be used in the beheading of the world's most wanted terrorist. Faulkner says he had been to Afghanistan several times before and claims he had been in close proximity to bin Laden on previous occasions. Of course, even if his arrest marked the first time he'd tried to enter Afghanistan, it was pretty hard core. Or pretty idiotic -- depending on whom you ask. But the Rocky Mountain Rambo, as he was dubbed by the New York Daily News, was picked up by Pakistani authorities just nine miles from the Afghanistan border, carrying a pistol and night-vision goggles to go along with his 40-inch blade.

What's Happened Since? Faulkner was deported without charges about a week after his arrest. He did a brief media blitz, appearing on shows such as "The Late Show With David Letterman," "The View" and "The Early Show," and has been under the radar since. His mission may be better conceived as a movie plot than a real-life goal, but he went so far that he earned his place as a folk hero and Internet sensation, with nicknames like "American Ninja," "the Highlander" and "the bin Laden Headhunter."

In His Own Words: Faulkner hasn't spoken to the press recently, but he upon his return to the United States, he stopped to talk to reporters. "We can't let people like [bin Laden] scare us," Faulkner was quoted as saying in the New York Daily News. "We don't get scared by people like this, we scare them and that's what this is about. We're going to take care of business."

Video: Faulkner on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in June

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