But law enforcement officials said that a tip this week finally led them Wednesday night to the Arizona couple, murder suspects who had hunkered down in a remote outpost in the Tonto National Forest called Punkin Center.
It was there, the authorities said, that the Barksdales surrendered when law enforcement officers surrounded a modular home and several trailers in the unincorporated community, population 1,500. Their capture ended an exhaustive search for the fugitives, who had escaped in Utah on Aug. 26 after overpowering two private security guards who had been taking them back to Arizona from New York state, where they were arrested May 24.
“This is, obviously, a big relief off our shoulders,” David Gonzales, the U.S. marshal for Arizona, said during a news conference Thursday in Phoenix.
Gonzales said law enforcement officers had recently gotten tips that the couple had been in Snowflake, Arizona, a small town in Navajo County, where a Wells Fargo bank had been robbed Tuesday.
“Our hearts sunk,” he said. “It turned out it wasn’t them.”
Then, Gonzales said, the authorities received the tip that the Barksdales had an acquaintance in Punkin Center who was on probation for the sale of methamphetamines. Punkin Center is 114 miles from Snowflake.
As officers and a state police helicopter closed in on the couple’s hideout, the homeowner walked out of the residence, followed by Susan Barksdale, the authorities said. Next, Blane Barksdale came outside. He turned verbally abusive toward the arresting officers and made obscene gestures at them, the authorities said.
Officers used a stun gun and beanbag round from a shotgun to subdue him, the authorities said. Then, they said, he casually warned the arresting officers: “Be safe out there. It’s dangerous.”
The Arizona couple — she is 59 and he is 56 — were arrested May 24 in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, arson and other criminal offenses related to the killing of Frank Bligh, 72, of Tucson, in April.
Bligh’s body still has not been found, according to investigators, who said they nevertheless believed that he was a homicide victim and that he was last seen at the Cowpony Bar in Tucson on April 7.
Along with Blane Barksdale’s nephew, Brent Mallard, 31, the couple set fire to Bligh’s home, which was not occupied at the time, and caused an explosion, the authorities said. Mallard was charged with arson and second-degree burglary.
While the Barksdales were being extradited back to Arizona, the authorities said, they used the ruse that they had to go to the bathroom to overpower and kidnap two private security guards who had been transporting them through Utah.
When Capt. James Scott Jr. of the Tucson Police Department learned that the couple had escaped, he said Thursday, “You could imagine what came out of my mouth.” He said that knowing the U.S. marshals and several state, federal and local law enforcement agencies were on the trail made him sleep more easily at night.
“We just knew it was a matter of time that they would locate these individuals, and they did,” he said.
There had been a $25,000 reward for tips leading to the capture of Blane Barksdale, who was on the 15 Most Wanted list of the U.S. Marshals Service. The reward for Susan Barksdale’s capture was $10,000. The agency said Thursday that it was not immediately clear if the reward would be collected.
In addition to murder and arson charges, the Barksdales are expected to face kidnapping charges, according to the FBI. The U.S. Marshals Service said as many as four people could face charges for harboring the Barksdales, who appeared in federal court in Tucson on Thursday afternoon.
Asked if private security guards were transporting them, law enforcement officials smiled and said they were not.
This article originally appeared in
.