Escaped Texas Inmates Recaptured After Tip

Escapees caught north of escape scene, after tip leads authorities to barn.

ByABC News
April 4, 2013, 12:18 PM

April 4, 2013 — -- Two "extremely dangerous" escapees from an East Texas jail were recaptured today in Cooper, Texas, north of Sulphur Springs, after a tip lead authorities to a barn there, the Hopkins County Sheriff's Office told ABC News.

Brian Tucker, 44, and John King, 39, escaped from Hopkins County Jail in Sulphur Springs, Texas, around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Tucker and King were returned to the Hopkins County Jail, Hopkins County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Brad Cummings told ABC News.

Cummings said the vehicle that was stolen in Sulphur Springs was found in close proximity to where they located Tucker and King. There was no information if the two showed any resistance while being taken into custody, according to Cummings.

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Tucker was facing capital murder charges for allegedly strangling a man with shoelaces and King was charged with evading arrest, burglary and substance possession.

Cummings told ABCNews.com King received a 40-year prison sentence earlier this week.

The search for the two became a multi-agency effort. Cummings said that the manhunt involved the police forces for several surrounding counties, as well as Texas Rangers and U.S. marshals.

Authorities believed the inmates escaped from a recreation yard during allotted recreational time. They believed the men squeezed through a part of the surrounding fencing when a guard assigned to watch them from a window looked away.

Their black-and-white prison suits were found on the railroad tracks behind the jail. Cummings said that underneath the prison suits, inmates wear a white undershirt and a white pair of boxers.

Tucker was described as 5-foot-7 and about 170 pounds. He has brown eyes, brown hair and multiple tattoos. King was described as 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. He has black hair, hazel eyes and multiple tattoos.

At one point, the hunt for the fugitives prompted officials to lock down all schools in Hopkins County after a 2010 black Saturn Vue with a pistol inside was stolen from outside a home in Sulpher Springs at around 4 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.

"Right now we're trying to diligently go after these guys," Cummings told ABCNews.com before the fugitives were captured. "We've received a lot of calls with sightings of this SUV. It has been a cold trail so far, by time officers get there, the vehicle is gone."

Cummings said that inside the stolen Saturn was a .22-caliber Derringer pistol.

"We are unaware if it's related to these two fugitives. It's possible that it might be them, or it might be something different," he said. "We're telling people to be cautious. If them, they're extremely dangerous.

ABC News' Michael S. James contributed to this report.