Bill Harris, who rose to prominence as a senior figure in the Symbionese Liberation Army, the radical left-wing organization behind the 1974 abduction of Patty Hearst, has died at the age of 81.
Harris died September 10 in San Francisco, according to The New York Times.
The kidnapping that made Harris infamous unfolded in 1974, when members of the SLA seized Hearst from her apartment in Berkeley, CA. At the time, Harris served as one of the group's top lieutenants.
During her time in captivity, Hearst was coerced into recording a statement renouncing her family, and she subsequently appeared to adopt the SLA's ideology. She went on to take part in a robbery carried out by the group at a San Francisco bank.
Hearst was taken into custody in 1975 and convicted of bank robbery. A seven-year prison term followed, though she ultimately served roughly two years behind bars before President Jimmy Carter commuted the remainder of her punishment.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton issued Hearst a full pardon.
Harris was 81 at the time of his death.