When Pedro Lopez was arrested in 1980 by police in Eduador his subsequent confessions made him perhaps the most prolific serial murderer of all time. After being caught during the attempted abduction of a twelve-year-old girl Lopez stunned authorities with claims that he had raped and murdered 300 young girls in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia during his drifting travels, often times luring the children away from busy markets and streets. Authorities in the region had previously noted the surge in missing children andhad attributed itto an unknown band of slave traders. Until Lopez talked it had beenunimaginable to them that one man was responsible for the bulk of the disappearances.

Lopez' success was mind-boggling but he was also the recipient of some good fortune. After committing roughly one-third of his kills in Peru, Lopez was nearly the victim of vigilatnes after being caught attempting to lure a young girl from a native tribe. Reportedly, an American missionary stepped in and not only was Lopez not killed by the Indians, he was never arrested or charged in a crime for the incident. He was simply deported to Ecuador where he continued to kill unabated.

After Lopez' 1980 arrest and confession he was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, ending the homocidal career of the "Monster of the Andes".