Authorities spot van driven by two remaining fugitives

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. – A van used by two Texas prison escapees to flee this mountain town was found yesterday at a motel about 20 miles from where four fellow fugitives were captured and a fifth committed suicide.

Police surrounded the four-story Quality Inn in Colorado Springs, but there was no sign of the two inmates, police spokesman Skip Arms said.

"This is, in fact, the van we've been looking for," Arms said as he stood in the parking lot. "We're checking in local hotels attempting to locate the two fugitives."

He also said the two convicts could have stolen another vehicle and left the area.

Also yesterday, a state trooper was killed while pursuing what turned out to be an inaccurate tip about the van. Authorities said the trooper lost control of his car and slammed into a parked truck on Interstate 70. The van he was following later turned up at the Keystone ski resort full of construction workers.

The developments came as state and federal officers followed hundreds of leads for the two fugitives, a day after authorities raided a trailer park and captured four others and found an arsenal of loaded guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. A seventh fugitive committed suicide.

Wilma David, who works in a restaurant near the motel, told KMGH-TV she and her co-workers spotted the van in the parking lot. They peeked inside and saw duffel bags, maps and hair dye. The restaurant manager called police.

"I thought to myself, that looks like the one they've been describing on television," she said. "We looked at it and the color was right."

Arms said the van could have been in the lot since Monday night, but officers believe it arrived early Tuesday.

The seven broke out of the Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas, southeast of San Antonio, on Dec. 13. They overpowered civilian workers and a guard and stole a cache of weapons. They are also suspected in the Dec. 24 sporting goods store robbery in Irving, Texas, that left police officer Aubrey Hawkins dead. More guns were stolen in the holdup.