Fox: West Virginia Sniper Hits 4th Victim, Got Away in 100mph+ police chase (Dunbar, Kanawha County)

Fox News | August 21, 2003 | Rick Leventhal

[wardaddy]

Good Lord.

[tallhappy]

It's like three in the morning there. What time did this happen?

And...will this again be Islam-related?

[Ronin]

Got away?????

How in the Hell does he "get away" in an era when cops have helicopters and radios and God knows what else?

[Rome2000]

Holy Moly

[Timesink]

How in the Hell does he "get away" in an era when cops have helicopters and radios and God knows what else?

I can't guarantee it, but I don't think the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department has a chopper.

[Timesink]

It's like three in the morning there. What time did this happen?

Rick didn't say, but I presume it was just a short time ago.

Of course, our three local TV news outlets are sound asleep, running network programming, so I don't know where I'm going to get any more information until Fox reports more or the AP spits something out.

[Timesink]

Forgot to add, this victim was a female under the age of 18 ... I think Rick said 16, but I don't remember for certain.

[Ruth A.]

Maybe they are waiting for the Robert Byrd Helicopter Hanger.

[stlnative]

This just sucks! - I hope they catch this a-hole soon (but this could be a copy-cat other than the person who shot the other 3 recently)

[RandallFlagg]

The idea that the victim was (possibly) a kid makes me lean towards a copycat muhammad/malvo with similar beliefs.

[martin_fierro]

DUCK!

[Timesink]

Update:

Search continues for truck. Go-Mart in Dunbar, another convenience store. Happened ~3 hours ago. Investigators starting to pack up. Two shots fired at a couple, boyfriend saw truck like the one suspected ... chase went 120-130 mph, officer(s) lost trail. UNCLEAR if girl was actually hit.

[Timesink]

Rick is saying she was shot AT. I don't think she was hit.

[stlnative]

Sniper Hunt Hindered by W. Virginia's Penchant for Rifles, Pickups

Thursday, August 21, 2003

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Rifles and pickups go together in West Virginia (search), so finding a sniper suspect driving a flatbed Ford in the hills and valleys around the capital is a difficult task -- at best.

Based on eyewitness accounts, investigators are looking for a dark-colored, two-tone Ford F-150 (search) extended cab pickup that was seen at two of three recent sniper-style shootings in the area.

Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows Jr., 26, both of Campbells Creek, were killed within 90 minutes of each other at rural convenience stores about 10 miles apart on U.S. 60. Authorities say both shots probably came from a .22-caliber rifle -- the most popular style of small-caliber rifle in the state.

"It would have been more beneficial to us if it had been an uncommon weapon and an uncommon vehicle," Kanawha County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Phil Morris (search) said Wednesday.

Authorities said they were investigating a shooting at a convenience store late Wednesdsay in Dunbar, about 6 miles from Charleston. Police said no one was killed and would not confirm whether anyone had been hit in the incident around 11:30 p.m.

A spokesman with U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said witnesses were being interviewed but he did not provide further details.

A short time after that shooting was reported, a deputy pursued and then lost a pickup truck he saw speeding down U.S. Route 60, a dispatcher said. Authorities said they weren't sure if the incidents were connected, but said a search for the truck was under way Thursday.

Ford F-150s are popular in the state, accounting for more than 2,600 sales last year, according to the West Virginia Automotive and Truck Dealers Association. It ranks as the second most stolen vehicle in West Virginia, behind the Chevrolet Cavalier, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says.

Now, every blue, black or maroon Ford with gold trim is suspect.

On Wednesday, police released enhanced images of a Ford extended cab pickup similar to the vehicle seen by witnesses at both Patton's and Meadow's shootings.

Investigators also announced Wednesday that they want to question a man eyewitnesses have placed near the truck in the Campbells Creek area days before Patton and Meadows were shot, said Kanawha County Sheriff's Lt. Jess Bailes.

The man, described as being white, 6-feet tall with trim build and a beard, is not considered a suspect, but someone "we want to talk to," Bailes said.

Authorities plan to create a sketch of the man but will not release it to the public because they do not want to taint other possible eyewitness accounts, Bailes said.

Eyewitnesses have also told police that they saw a large white man in the truck the night of the shootings.

No vehicle descriptions have been offered in the Aug. 10 shooting of 44-year-old Gary Carrier Jr., who was killed while making a telephone call outside a Charleston convenience store. Police have yet to release ballistic information on the shooting.

However, police have said that Carrier, Patton and Meadows were shot in the head or neck from a distance of 50 yards to 75 yards. Given West Virginia's hunting heritage, looking for a small-caliber rifle "can be like looking for needle in a haystack," Morris said.

Young hunters usually begin using a .22-caliber rifle after learning to shoot with a B-B gun. "A lot of people use them to squirrel hunt and for small game," Coleman said. "A lot of people use them for target practice."

While authorities have probed possible drug connections in the deaths, a friend of Meadows said he "was definitely not into drugs."

"They're trying to relate this to drugs, and I think that's a lot of bull," Brett Page said Wednesday. "It's making a lot of people mad. He was a really good guy who took care of his kid and took care of his body."

A city, county and federal task force has been working on the shootings since last week. Teams of investigators have gone door-to-door in the hopes of finding more eyewitnesses.

[stlnative]

Source for Story I just posted

[weegee]

The solution will have to be quickly established roadblocks. If Moose had actually had his teams look at the data, they would have caught the DC snipers earlier. They had been stopped (and logged) at several of the shooting locations. That kind of coincidence would be hard to explain. The "white van" proved to be a dangerously false lead.

[RandallFlagg]

Sniper Hunt Hindered by W. Virginia's Penchant for Rifles, Pickups

You just KNOW what they're gonna say....

[Timesink]

Another possible sniper-like shooting in West Virginia

Charleston, West Virginia-AP -- A search for a pickup truck and its driver is under way in West Virginia after the latest convenience store shooting.

Late last night, authorities were called to the scene of a shooting at a convenience store in Dunbar, about six miles from Charleston. Emergency responders say there were no injuries in the 11:30 p-m incident.

A short time after the Dunbar shooting, a Kanawha County Sheriff's deputy spotted a pickup truck nearby moving down a highway at a high rate of speed. A dispatcher says the deputy pursued the truck but later lost sight of it.

A spokesman with U-S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says witnesses are being interviewed but he declined to provide further information.

Three people have been killed in previous sniper-style shootings in the state.

[stlnative]

It looks like it may have been a flatbed truck they were chasing tonight? (see the first few lines in the story I just posted)