A special edition of The Atlanta Journal hit newsstands on July 30, 1996, a pivotal headline splashed across the front page: “F.B.I. Suspects ‘Hero’ Guard May Have Planted Bomb.”

It was three days after a lethal explosion killed one woman and injured more than 100 people at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. The story would change everything for Richard A. Jewell, the security guard in question — even long after his name was cleared.

Before the report came out in the paper, now named The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officials had used eyewitness accounts to compile a sketch of a man believed to have planted the pipe bomb in the park. But the F.B.I. wouldn’t release the sketch, and it wouldn’t yet name any suspects. A photo of a man near the blast site was too grainy for officials to make out any facial features.

Spectators in Atlanta and around the world, unnerved by violence at an event that celebrates global unity, were anxious for answers. Enter Jewell — who seemed to fit the bill of a lone wolf, as some news organizations began to speculate. Maybe he wanted to play hero for 15 minutes. (Never mind the lack of evidence.)