MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — From Casper, Wyoming to Monroe County, Georgia, a trip of about 1,500 miles, authorities say a fugitive couple made the drive and ended up in a Monroe County garage.
Sheriff Brad Freeman says those fugitives turned out to be Richard Fountaine, an escaped prisoner, and Kimberly Belcher, his alleged accomplice.
According to the Wyoming Department of Corrections, Fountaine was serving time for burglary, and Belcher is now wanted for helping him run from police.
Investigators believe they burglarized an empty home along Logwall Church Road in north Monroe County. That scene has already been searched and no fingerprints were found.
Sheriff Freeman says the two were last spotted near Logwall Church Road and Highway 42.
Sheriff Brad Freeman says the search began after receiving a call about an abandoned vehicle with Wyoming tags. After making some phone calls, they realized the car was allegedly used as part of an escape plan.
"Based off running the VIN and the tag number and then contacting the Wyoming authorities and finding out the vehicle was suspected in the escape, but the vehicle was not listed on any type of database as being involved in the escape," says Sheriff Freeman.
One of the neighbors who saw the duo was Natalie Sundeen. She says she saw the woman first in her garage. "Then a male stuck his head out, and I noticed he was tattooed all the way up, and he was brandishing a weapon and their eyes just kind of looked crazy."
She adds, "They said they had gotten their car stuck in a creek on our property or close to our property and could I help them get it out. I said, 'Well, there are people painting the house in the back. If you wanna talk to them, you're welcome to -- they have trucks.'"
And Sundeen says afterwards, she left and didn't return until the sheriff's department was there. She learned later that the two were 29-year-old Fountaine and 25-year-old Belcher from Wyoming.
Sheriff Freeman says the two have not been spotted since Wednesday afternoon, but they will continue their search.
"We're gonna keep people in the area for several, several hours, because obviously, an escapee, and you just never know, they're very unpredictable," he says.
But for Sundeen, she says she was alarmed, but she is glad they did not harm her or her children that were in the car with her.
"I don't think the fugitives wanted to harm us, they just wanted their car unstuck, and they wanted to get on their way."
The sheriff's office notified 13WMAZ Thursday evening that they may now be armed. If you see the two fugitives, do not approach them -- call the sheriff's office at (478) 994-7010.