The couple suspected of killing an elderly Utah couple and trying to kill a Wendover woman were captured Tuesday near Wells by Elko County Sheriff’s Deputies and Nevada Highway Patrol Troopers.
According to Trooper Jim Stewart of the Nevada Highway Patrol at approximately 12:30 pm today, the two individuals were spotted on foot by an airplane was flying in the area of I-80 mile marker 378, near Oasis, Nevada. This is approximately 27 miles east of Wells, Nevada.
Earlier today the modern day Bonnie and Clyde were identified as Logan Welles McFarland and Angela Atwood in according to newly released court documents.
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The arrest warrant for second-degree felony burglary of the home Ann and Woody Fullwood was issued Sunday for McFarland. The affidavit says McFarland and Atwood robbed the home in Mt. Pleasant before car jacking Wendover business woman Rattana Keomanivong and shooting her in the head as she successfully escaped from them.
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While the arrest warrant itself does not directly connect McFarland or Atwood to the shooting deaths of Ann and Woody Fullwood, other papers filed in 6th District Court, investigators say, “The state of Utah considers Logan Welles McFarland a person of interest in the deaths of the two … Mt. Pleasant residents.”
Both McFarland and Atwood remained on the run in the rugged Nevada outback Tuesday.
According to the warrant, items found in a car that McFarland and Atwood allegedly stole, including jewelry, were directly linked to the Fullwoods. The affidavit also revealed that a Del Taco receipt, found in another vehicle the couple was allegedly driving, showed a purchase was made using the Fullwoods’ credit card.
The warrant states that McFarland and Atwood borrowed a 1997 Plymouth Breeze from an acquaintance on Dec. 29 so he could “go to Mt. Pleasant to a ‘friend’s house.’”
The couple returned the car at midnight on Dec. 30. McFarland “bragged to him about acquiring firearms and money,” according to the affidavit.
But when the acquaintance got out of bed about 6 a.m., the car was gone again. McFarland later called to say the car could be found abandoned in Santaquin just off I-15. When the man retrieved the car, he found what appeared to be a jewelry box in the trunk, according to court documents. He also found an electric grill, a keyboard, a black plastic box and a metal container with “Geo Cache” written on it.
Fearing the property was stolen, the man first opted to burn some of the items, but later called police after viewing an online news story about the Mt. Pleasant killings and seeing a photo of a person he thought he could identify, according to court records.
When police searched the fire pit where some of the items were burned, they found a pair of gold earrings that the Fullwoods’ daughter confirmed belonged to her mother. They also found a necklace with “firefighter’s mom” engraved on it, and a lighter with the words “USS Kittyhawk” that belonged to her father.
After the car in Santaquin was abandoned, another vehicle, a Saturn Ion, was stolen near the area. Some two hours later in Wendover the modern day Bonnie and Clyde ran into their first bit of bad luck on their crime spree outside the Red Garter Casino. Atwood allegedly forced a middle-age woman, Rattana Keomanivong into the passenger seat of her car and took control of her vehicle. They picked the wrong woman to mess with. The owner of the local gym Animal House, Keomanivong won the Wendover Strongest woman contest this summer. About a quarter-mile from the casino, Keomanivong fought off her car jacker by “biting her ear, neck and forcing her from the vehicle,” the affidavit states. Atwood fired a shot at the woman as she drove away, according to the arrest warrant.
The woman was struck in the back of the head, but she was able to drive herself to the police station.She is doing well after emergency surgery and should be home within the week.
Thwarted in their attempt to steal Keomanivong’s vehicle the couple sped off west bound on I-80. Their stolen Saturn was found abandoned in Wells. The couple allegedly then
According NHP Public Information Officer Trooper Jim Stewart said that once in Wells, the suspects ditched the vehicle and stole a Volkswagen Jetta with Colorado license plate No. 725 WHX, that was parked in front of the Super 8 motel with the engine running. The suspects then got back on the interstate and continued on toward Elko.
As the suspects got closer to Elko in the Ryndon area, Elko County sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop the vehicle. Stewart said the suspects then drove the car across the median and back onto the eastbound travel lanes. The suspects then drove all the way to the east side of Wells again with troopers in pursuit at speeds of more than 100 mph.
Stewart said the suspects were able to dodge a spike strip laid down by a highway trooper.
The vehicle was last seen leaving the interstate at the Oasis exit and heading south on a dirt road. A rancher living in that area saw the car go past his property, leading police to believe the suspects may have driven the vehicle deep into the back country.
Stewart said troopers are working with sheriff’s deputies, West Wendover police and even White Pine County sheriff’s deputies to try to locate the suspects. Sheriff’s detective Cpl. James Carpenter said that on Sunday authorities spent much of the day searching for what was thought to be a firearm along the interstate. He confirmed as of Sunday evening that the man and woman were still at large.
Anyone who has seen them or the vehicle is encouraged to call Elko Central Dispatch at 777-7300 or the West Wendover Police Department at 775-664-2930.
West Wendover Police Department, Elko County Sheriff’s Department and Nevada Highway Patrol are pursuing the suspects. Utah Highway Patrol, Tooele County and Box Elder County law enforcement have also been notified.
Anyone with information should contact the West Wendover Police Department at 775-664-2930 or call 911.
Investigators also filed a motion Tuesday in 6th District Court to have several search warrants sealed, including phone records “that investigators believe could be instrumental in locating suspects responsible for” the deaths of the Fullwoods.
Other search warrants were served on vehicles and residences in Mt. Pleasant and Moroni.
So why did it take law enforcement 3 days to find them when they were only a few miles away from their last know location?
Sad thing is that it wasn’t law enforcement who found them!