PEA RIDGE — Residents north of town should be able to rest easily now, after confirmed sightings of Cory Wolf in Oklahoma.
Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson, attempting to alleviate fears of Pea Ridge area residents, said Wolf is no longer in the area.
As of Monday, April 5, Wolf is believed to be in Illinois.
“Illinois was in pursuit with him last night,” Sheriff Frank Cantey, Mayes County, Okla., said, adding he just got that news Monday from Illinois State Police.
“I haven’t heard anything since the middle of last week, we thought we spotted him in town, but turned out not to be him. We had a car coming through town and thought it was him driving but it wasn’t,” Cantey said.
The subject of a high-speed pursuit and subsequent manhunt beginning Tuesday, March 23, as well as the suspect in a break-in and later burglary, Wolf’s presence in the area shook the Pea Ridge area for two weeks.
On Tuesday, March 30, school children were given a letter written by school superintendent Mike Van Dyke cautioning parents about the man “last seen on Patterson Road,” urging parents not to leave children unattended while the threat of a dangerous criminal roaming the town loomed over all residents.
“I think there will be a lot of mamas and daddies that will sleep better tonight,” Ferguson said at a press conference late Wednesday, March 31.
Although confirmed to be out of this area, Wolf is not yet in custody as of Tuesday, April 6, having last been reported to be in pursuit by Illinois State Police.
He now faces charges in several states. There are outstanding warrants for Wolf’s arrest in Cherokee and Mayes counties in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma State Courts Web site.
There are several counties in Oklahoma with warrants issued for Wolf’s arrest, according to Sgt. Shannon Clark, public information officer with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
Major Bob Haley, with theWagner County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office, said Wolf is the suspect of an assault and car jacking. He said the owner of the car was tied to a tree near a river around Broken Arrow, Okla. He said the incident is still under investigation and the U.S. Marshal’s Office is involved.
Wolf and Brittany Thompson-Wolf, Wolf’s wife according to Pryor, Okla., detectives, were recorded on an Oklahoma Walgreens’ surveillance video purchasing a cell phone and batteries, Ferguson said. The couple was reported to have invaded a man’s home Tuesday, March 30, tie him to a tree and steal his car.
The vehicle was found and U.S. Marshals contacted Benton County officials last Wednesday, March 31.
“We’ve used a lot of man-hours and fuel (on this manhunt). But the taxpayers pay us to protect them and I feel good about it,” Ferguson said.
“We were out there, we searched the woods, we were just a step behind him. A manhuntis a manhunt - you really don’t know who the person is, you have to take each incident serious,” Ferguson said.
“We were out doing this stuff today,” Ferguson said March 31. “I found the chief (of Pea Ridge Police) in the woods, we were all out looking for this man.
This hasn’t been a oneman show, it’s a joint effort,” he said.
The search for Wolf has so far involved cooperation from six different law-enforcement agencies in three states, excluding new developments in Illinois.
Wolf, 31, is 5’9”, 170 pounds and considered armed and dangerous. He was the driver of a vehicle that was pursued by law enforcement officers from several agencies, beginning in McDonald County, Mo., on March 23 and culminating in Pea Ridge.
He is the suspect of a burglary of a residence on Cloer Road on Thursday, March 25.
Wolf fled on foot and was believed to be assisted back to Oklahoma by his mother and wife. He is wanted in Oklahoma in connection with attempted murder and residential burglary.
Persons with information about Wolf should call 911, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at 273-5532 or the Pea Ridge Police Department at 451-8220.
News, Pages 1 on 04/07/2010