Bonnie and Clyde Caught, McCluskey and Welch in Custody

On July 30th, three men broke out of a medium security prison about 200 miles northwest of Phoenix in Kingman, AZ. The privately owned prison is not equipped to house violent offenders but the three inmates were relocated to the prison due to their good behavior. Tracy Province was serving a life sentence for murder and robbery. John McCluskey was serving a 15 year sentence for second-degree murder, aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm. Daniel Renwick was serving 22 years for second-degree murder.

The prisoners were able to escape through several defects in prison security. The alarm on an exterior dormitory door had been ignored because the door was propped open by a rock. A rock was used to keep the door open because of the large number of people that passed through the door.  A perimeter post was left unstaffed and there was often a 15 minute gap during shift change when the perimeter fence was not monitored.  The 10-foot chain link interior fence was not topped with barbed or razor wire which allowed them to scale that fence and hide behind a building that can’t be seen from the prison yard. They used the wire cutters supplied by Welch to cut a 30x22 inch hole in the exterior fence and used a dog leash to pull the fence back and allow them to escape.

John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch were captured on August 19.2010 after being spotted by a forest ranger in Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.  The forest ranger noticed an unattended campfire and when he went to investigate further he noticed that a car was parked near the campsite in such a way that appeared to be intentionally hidden. The forest ranger spoke with McCluskey briefly Thursday afternoon before leaving to notify authorities of the couple’s location and they were later captured by a Swat team at the campsite shortly before dark.

Welch, McCluskey’s fiancé and cousin, did reach for a gun when the Swat team entered the campsite but dropped it when she realized they couldn’t escape. Fearing that the gun she had been holding had been used in the New Mexico killings of Gary and Linda Haas, officers were using care in handling it.  McCluskey volunteered that the gun used in those killings was inside the tent.

Authorties were glad that the capture was made without incident since the couple was expected to try to go out in McCluskey expressed regret for not having killed the park ranger when he had the chance but no remorse for any of the crimes he committed since escaping prison.

Tracy Province, 42, who escaped with fellow inmates John McCluskey,45, and and Daniel Renwick, 36, from prison with the aid of Casslyn Welch, 43 was captured earlier today in Meeteetse, Wyoming after a woman who had chatted with him on church steps on August 8^th, went home and watched a news broadcast that showed the escapee’s photo. She notified authorities who spotted Province in the area at approximately 6am Monday morning and took him into custody without incident. Daniel Renwick had been captured on August 1, 2010 in Rifle, Colorado; nearly 700 miles from the prison.

Claudia Washburn, 68 of Phoenix, AZ, mother of John McCluskey, was arrested on August 8, 2010 for providing aid to her son in hiding from authorities. Jack Washburn, McCluskey’s stepfather is requesting that his stepson turn himself in for the sake of his mother. Mr. Washburn doesn’t believe his wife would have given her son money or other types of assistance. McCluskey and Welch are considered armed and dangerous and may be in the Yellowstone area trying to make their way into Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been made aware of the situation. There is a $40,000 reward for information that leads to their arrest.

After escaping prison, Province, McCluskey and Welch high jacked two semi-truck drivers at gunpoint near Kingman while they were pulled over for a shift change, the fugitives threatened to kill them but later released them unharmed near Flagstaff. Forensic evidence has linked the fugitives to the brutal deaths of Linda and Gary Haas, both 61, who were from Oklahoma but were vacationing in New Mexico. Their badly burned remains were found inside their burned out camper on August 4, 2010 and their pickup truck was later found about 100 miles away in Albuquerque, NM.

More information on the escaped criminal’s crimes:

• Renwick was convicted of murdering his ex-girl friend and her dad, after lying in ambush for them. Sentence 22 years.
• Province and another man were convicted of stabbing a robbery victim about 50 times. Sentence Life in prison.
• McCluskey was convicted of trying to kill a man, shooting him through a window, only to have the shotgun jam. Sentence 15 years.

There are a lot of questions as to why these violent offenders were in medium security prison, even if they exhibited ‘good behavior.’ Many of the message boards seem to point the finger at Gov. Jane Brewer and her focus on illegal aliens in the state. The general consensus is that her concerns over border control should be put on hold and the problems with privatized prisons and more immediate issues should be addressed. The fact that they escaped from a privately owned prison and alarms were missed or ignored has also raised some questions. Arizona has utilized privately owned prisons to help with the overcrowding in state owned prisons and lack of funds to build maximum security facilities.

The two remaining fugitives should be considered armed, will be desperate and very dangerous. They consider themselves as Bonnie and Clyde," US Marshal David Gonzales said at a news conference in Phoenix. If anyone sees something suspicious, you are asked to contact local authorities with details and do not approach or try to apprehend this couple. If you are in a secluded area or out after dark, keep alert for strange noises, keep car doors locked and windows high enough that someone cannot reach in the window. Do not stop for hitchhikers or any person or persons by the road. If someone appears to be injured, call 911 and provide as much information as you can see without stopping or leaving your vehicle. If they evidence the authorities has is correct they have killed two people to steal a pickup truck and further their escape.

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