Manhunt stakes increasing

By Ethan Nahté

Four inmates from the McCurtain County Jail in Idabel, Oklahoma, escaped on Thursday, February 3, and the search is still ongoing a week later.

According to a social media post by Polk County Sheriff Scott Sawyer, at approximately 8:30 p.m. during a routine head count, jailers confirmed four inmates were missing. These inmates were being held on charges for distribution, possessing stolen property, and narcotics charges…county, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers are involved in the manhunt.

There is an award up to $2,500 being offered for information leading to the capture of Justin Michael Hughes, Donnie Kale Middlebrooks and Jerome Lynn Rutherford.

The fourth escapee is identified as Kolby Russell Watson,28, who was apprehended two nights later on Feb. 5 by McCurtain County sheriff’s deputies and Choctaw Nation tribal police. Watson was captured in Hochatown, Oklahoma, according to McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy. The tourist destination is approximately 22 miles north-northeast of Idabel. It is 37 miles northwest of De Queen, Arkansas. Watson was captured Saturday night on Old Hochatown Road in close proximity to where Alyssa Walker-Donaldson, 24, was last seen alive.

MISSING

Her family reported her disappearance about 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7. Walker-Donaldson was last seen leaving a restaurant/bar located in a strip mall on U.S. 259 near Old Hochatown Road. Clardy says surveillance video shows Walker-Donaldson leaving The Watering Hole late Saturday night. She was reportedly driving to Chiggers Bar about a mile away on Stevens Gap Road just off U.S. 259. The sheriff said surveillance video from Chiggers shows her white 2018 Buick Encore driving past.

McCurtain County authorities are asking for help finding Walker-Donaldson, who stands 5’2″ tall, weighs 130 pounds and was driving a white 2018 Buick Encore with Choctaw plate CH7-5760.

The three other escapees remain at large. They are described as

• Idabel, Okla., native Justin Michael Hughes, 20, who stands 5′10″ tall, weighs 170 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes
• Texarkana, Texas, native Donnie Kale Middlebrooks, 21, who stands 6′3″ tall, weighs 201 pounds and has brown hair and eyes
• Idabel native Jerome Lynn Rutherford Jr., 23, who stands 6′ tall, weighs 153 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

ARRESTS

A total of 12 people have now been arrested in connection with their escape:

A jailer and a contractor’s helper have been arrested with assisting in their escape. Clardy told KSLA News that the contractor’s helper is Watson’s brother. Clardy also said that a contractor was performing work on a second-floor jail shower when he believes that the helper purposefully left a tool behind to help the four inmates escape through the shower ceiling. The jailer now is in the custody of the Choctaw Tribal Police.

Officials said Rutherford has gang connections in Oklahoma City, so leads there are being investigated as well.

On Feb. 8, six more were arrested and charged with either harboring a fugitive or obstruction of justice.

Clardy says at least four more arrests were made Wednesday, Feb. 9, in connection with the escape.

Clardy says Middlebrooks was spotted around 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in Eagletown, which is east of Broken Bow. He was dropping off a male and a female, who have been arrested in connection with the case.

MIDDLEBROOKS MAY BE HEADED TO ARKANSAS

The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas is putting out a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) in connection with one of the escaped inmates.

The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 saying residents should be on the lookout for a white 2010 Buick LaCrosse with Oklahoma license plate #LQC-958. Officials there say Middlebrooks stole the Buick LaCrosse from a gas station in Wright City, Oklahoma earlier in the day and could be headed to the Sevier County area.

Anyone who sees this car should call 9-1-1.

If you see any of these individuals, do not approach. Call 9-1-1 or the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office immediately at 580-286-3331.

Tips also can be made to the U.S. Marshals Service by calling its 24-hour tip line at (313) 202-6458, by visiting the agency’s website  https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/

This story is ongoing and details are subject to change.
UPDATE (Feb.10, 2022): According to the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department, Donnie Kale Middleborooks is in custody after a joint operation with USMS (U.S. Marshals Service), MCSO (McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office) and IPD (Idabel Police Department). The information was posted late Wednesday evening. Reports say he was captured somewhere around the Eagleton, Oklahoma area.

In other news, Thursday morning, family members told KFOR that the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office found Walker-Donaldson’s vehicle in Broken Bow Lake. A body was discovered inside the vehicle, but their identity has yet to be announced.
UPDATE 2 (Feb. 10, 2022):

Sheriff Kevin Clardy confirms the body discovered in the submerged vehicle is that of 24-year-old Alyssa Walker-Donaldson.

Family members and friends were gathered at the lake beginning around 8 a.m. waiting for the dive team to retrieve Walker-Donaldson’s Buick from the lake.

The sheriff says there are no immediate signs of foul play. A toxicology analysis will be performed. The sheriff says there is no indication that the case is connected to the escaped inmates in the area, as many had speculated. Family members have been notified of the death.

About Author