State and federal law enforcement agencies are scouring New York state for two fugitives on the lam from Tennessee who are accused of attempted murder and kidnapping.
Jarret Heitmann, 24, and Makayla Stilwell, 22, allegedly punched and kidnapped a 36-year-old woman at gunpoint on Tuesday in Mount Carmel, Tennessee, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports.
The pair later used that kidnapping victim to lure a 34-year-old man to the door of a residence in a nearby town and then shot him in the chest, according to NBC New York. There was a fight in a yard outside the home before the shooting, witnesses said.
The shooting victim was hospitalized and had been in critical condition for a time, WJHL-TV reports.
On Saturday, authorities said Heitmann and Stilwell were confirmed to have been in Pine Bush, New York, which is about 85 miles north of New York City. The two also might have been in the village of Bloomingburg.
In the towns of Gardiner and Shawangunk, in southeast New York state, residents got automated alerts that told them to lock all doors and report suspicious activity.
Numerous police vehicles also were seen driving fast late Friday night through the village of New Paltz, according to the newspaper.
It was not immediately clear what brought the fugitives to the Empire State.
Heitmann and Stilwell, who are believed to be in a romantic relationship, are on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s 10 “most wanted” list. The bureau is offering a reward of $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest of each suspect.
Heitmann has dark hair and a medium to slender build; he is said to be armed and has been known to travel by hitchhiking and freight train. Stilwell may have dyed her hair red.
The U.S. Marshals Service is involved in the manhunt.
Feature photo: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation