We have covered the story of the three Arizona inmates who escaped a few weeks ago since they fled, and as of last night, August 19, the search for the final inmate is over. While officials were searching for John McCluskey and his fiancee Casslyn Welch throughout the country, the couple was discovered a mere 300 miles from the Arizona prison.

A forest ranger working in Apache County led authorities to where the so-called "modern-day Bonnie and Clyde" were hiding after he noticed a campfire and a hidden vehicle at a campground. Investigators ran the plates of the vehicle through their system and were able to make a strong enough connection to the fugitive couple in order to organize a team to respond to the area.

Nationwide, authorities were desperate to find the couple because they have allegedly demonstrated severe violent behavior since the escape. Their suspected crimes over the last few weeks include assaulting and kidnapping truck drivers in order to hijack a vehicle and also murdering a couple in New Mexico.

Arizona authorities were able to arrest the pair without injury, but not from lack of McCluskey and Welch trying to evade arrest. According to reports, Welch went for her gun right before she was restrained and arrested. McCluskey also admitted that if he had gotten to his guns in time, he would have shot the officials at the scene, including the forest ranger whose suspicions led to their capture.

McCluskey and Welch will both be charged for the prison escape, Welch being charged with assisting the escape by providing the tools used to cut free from the prison grounds. McCluskey's mother and ex-wife have also been arrested for assisting in the escape.

The couple is wanted in both Arizona and New Mexico. New Mexico wants them because they, along with another escaped inmate, are prime suspects in a local murder case. Arizona will charge the couple with not only the prison escape but also the kidnapping of the truckers who were allegedly forced at gunpoint to drive McCluskey and Welch through Arizona.

Resource

USA Today: Escaped inmate, fiancee captured at Arizona campground (8/20/2010)