It was around 9 PM that evening that the three prisoners were able to breach two or three layers of security and, using wire cutters thrown over the fence to them by Casslyn Mae Welch (44), the cousin and so-called fiancée of McCluskey, cut holes in the prison’s perimeter fence and fled the grounds. The three then kidnapped two truck drivers at gunpoint (the gun likely provided to them by Welch) in Kingston and used the truck to flee the area, eventually abandoning the truck and the two kidnap victims at a truck stop in Flagstaff, Ariz. McCluskey, who had been sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder, had only been in prison for two weeks when he escaped.

Now the classic manhunt was underway. It didn’t take law enforcement long to locate Renwick in Rifle, Colorado, approximately 670 miles from the prison. On the night of July 31/August 1, local police were advised of a suspicious vehicle and when they attempted to stop it, the driver fired on officers, leading to a high speed chase and the eventual arrest of Renwick. No one was injured in the brief exchange of shots or the apprehension of the escaped prisoner. Unfortunately McCluskey and Province were not in the vehicle and the hunt continued for them, it this case with law enforcement wondering if the three had split up and run off in three different directions of if the now remaining two escapees, along with Welch, were still traveling together.

Authorities would soon pick up the trail of the remaining escapees in New Mexico. It was on a remote ranch in Santa Rosa that a burned out camper trailer was found on Wednesday, August 4. In the camper investigators found the charred remains of Gary and Linda Haas (both 61) of Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Hass both had pistol permits, so there is a distinct possibility the escapees are now armed with additional firearms. The Haas’ car would be found later that day in Albuquerque, about 120 miles west from site of the arson and double murder, suggesting that after their escape, the killers traveled almost 600 miles east from the prison, only perhaps to double back on their route to Albuquerque in an attempt to throw investigators off of their trail. Then there is also the possibility that the three (McCluskey, Welch and, perhaps, Province), or some combination thereof, dropped the Hass’s car in Albuquerque and again fled in another direction, perhaps east across the U.S. They could have also fled south to Mexico, this if they thought they could get across the U.S.-Mexican border, only a few hundred miles of them, something that is not too difficult for many to do these days…

Investigators have advised they can forensically link the escapees to the arson/double murder, so there is little cause to consider other suspects at this time. The two remaining escapees, assumedly aided by Welch, are considered to be armed and extremely dangerous fugitives who have just killed two innocent people. If so, they may believe they have little to lose at this point and could likely be expected to kill again in their flight. Residents across New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona are all double locking their doors at night and sightings of the fugitives are coming in rapidly. A citizen in Arizona reported he had sold a 2002 VW Jetta to individuals he believed to be identical to the fugitives. Investigators traced the vehicle to a Lake Havasu City couple, but, as it turned out, they were simply misidentified as the fugitives and had nothing to do with the case.

Investigators now believe that the fugitives may be hiding in or around Yellow Stone National Park, a huge area covering parts of Montana and Wyoming. While Province may have separated from McCluskey and Welch, the large search site will still allow investigators to put all of their search resources into that area. As it is the summer camping season, there is, of course, the distinct possibility that the fugitives could pose a threat to visitors to the park, something investigators will also be very aware of.

In their attempt to find the killers on the run, on Sunday morning investigators arrested fugitive McCluskey’s mother, Claudia Washburn (68), and charged her with giving aid and support to the fugitives. Her arrest could, of course, be used by authorities to leverage McCluskey into surrendering to save his mother from prison. As the forensic evidence linking the fugitives to the double murder of the Haas’ is said to be tied to McCluskey, this fact could be used to leverage Province, but since he was already serving a life sentence for murder, it would likely have little impact on him. What the authorities will eventually have to offer the fugitives is a simple choice: surrender or die. Hopefully that choice will be offered to the three before they have the chance to kill again.