"Maggot!"
Posted on 07/22/2005 9:42:12 PM PDT by Marauder
WALLACE – It had been 10 years since John Rollins Tuggle last saw his daughter. She was a toddler and he was headed to prison for raping his teenage sister-in-law.
Last Thursday, July 14, Tuggle left his home in Hayden, Colo., and drove to Athol, Idaho, to see his children, according to his brother.
Tuggle, 37, told his ex-wife he was taking their daughter, now 12, on an outing to the shopping mall.
Instead, he allegedly took her to the Coeur d'Alene Mountains north of Wallace, where he left the girl for dead in the brush off the side of a mountain road, Shoshone County Sheriff Chuck Reynalds said.
The girl was found with multiple stab wounds late Wednesday in the Lost Creek drainage north of Prichard, Idaho. While medical personnel worked to save her life Wednesday night, a manhunt began for Tuggle, who authorities said may be armed with knives and should be considered dangerous. A $10 million warrant was issued for Tuggle on Thursday – an exceptionally high figure, Reynalds said, because of the severity of the crime and Tuggle's criminal history.
Sacred Heart Medical Center officials said they couldn't release information on the girl but Reynalds said she was awake Thursday morning and talking to detectives.
Reynalds said Tuggle called his ex-wife around 11 a.m. to say they were having "a good time." Reynalds said the girl was likely stabbed around 1 p.m. and spent four to five hours bleeding and alone before a family looking for a campsite off Forest Service Road 442 heard her cries.
It's about 80 miles from Athol to the field where the family found the girl, including 29 miles on the paved but curvy Coeur d'Alene River Road.
Reynalds estimates the girl had at least five or six stab wounds. He said she was weak from blood loss when she was found, and unable to walk.
The family drove the girl in their camper to Gloria's Steakhouse in Prichard. Reynalds said authorities were notified when they arrived at the restaurant about 7 p.m. She was airlifted to Kootenai Medical Center and then transferred to Sacred Heart in Spokane.
"Right now she's safe," Reynalds said Thursday afternoon. "She's in good hands. Her mother is with her."
The Spokesman-Review is not identifying the mother, to protect the identity of the victim.
The girl was discovered about 40 yards from the gravel road and not far from several undeveloped but often-used campsites. Crime-scene tape and wrappers from evidence collection swabs marked the scene of Wednesday's crime – a small clearing with hundreds of wild daisies that had been smashed to the ground.
Tuggle was sentenced on March 27, 1995, in Shoshone County District Court for the rape of his then-wife's 14-year-old sister. According to court records, Tuggle raped the teen on at least two separate occasions, in May and June 1994. Tuggle pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months fixed, and seven and a half years indeterminate time in prison for the rape.
He served all his time – nine years total – in the Idaho State Prison, never qualifying for parole.
He was eligible for parole after one year in prison, but the Idaho Parole Board was not convinced that he was a good candidate for parole, said Tracy Shearer, parole board spokesman. Shearer didn't have details on why the parole board made that decision, and it wasn't clear Thursday whether Tuggle appeared before the board again.
The Department of Corrections had few problems with Tuggle, however, writing him up for only minor disciplinary issues, said Teresa Jones, IDOC spokeswoman.
"Anybody could be a good inmate," Shearer said. "That doesn't mean they're a good choice for parole."
When Tuggle was released from prison on Jan. 30, 2004, he was not supervised and only required to register as a sex offender. He immediately moved to Hayden, Colo., near Steamboat Springs, to live with his brother, Chris Tuggle.
According to the Routt County, Colo., Sheriff's Office records, Tuggle had no trouble with the law while living in Hayden and was prompt in registering as a sex offender.
"He was one of them who would come in without having to be reminded or bothered or thrown in jail," said Elise Bennett, Routt County Sheriff's records custodian.
Tuggle found work there as a painter but had not visited his children since leaving prison, said his brother. Chris Tuggle was surprised when his brother abruptly left last week.
"He was supposed to be back Tuesday," Chris Tuggle said by phone Thursday. Chris Tuggle said he didn't know where his brother was and hasn't been able to reach him by cell phone. "I've talked to cops all day."
John Tuggle and the girl's mother were married on Jan. 13, 1993, in Coeur d'Alene, shortly before their daughter was born on Jan. 18, 1993. On Dec. 9, 1993, they had their second child, a boy, according to court records.
Tuggle was arrested in late January of 1995 for the rape of his wife's sister, and the couple separated. While Tuggle was serving time in prison, his wife filed for divorce and was granted full custody of their two children.
An 81-year-old woman who lived next door to the family for five years in Coeur d'Alene recalled the woman mentioning a few years ago that her ex-husband was being released from prison and that she was worried about her kids.
Then a month or two ago, the mother told her neighbor that Tuggle wanted to see the kids, but that the woman's boyfriend had said no.
The beginning of this month, the mother and children moved to a new house, the former neighbor added, but came back to visit the boyfriend every once in a while.
The neighbor described them as a friendly family. The kids used to help her carry groceries, and the son shoveled her snow. "They would have done anything in a moment's notice that I asked them to," the elderly woman said.
The former neighbor started connecting the dots to this incident when she heard on the news that the injured girl's father was from Colorado.
"I kept thinking and thinking, 'Oh my God, I hope it isn't that little girl,' " the neighbor said. "I can't believe how close to home that was."
I blame the guy. But, it would have to be extreme circumstances to justify the mother letting his daughter go off with you, wouldn't you agree? The neighbor said she was afraid. So I'm wondering if there's more to the story...
My brother-in-law has been spending the summer in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains probably not too far from where this monster dumped his daughter. And the other brother-in-law lives in the tiny town of Athol. Hope they hunt this guy down and shoot him like the animal he is.
sorry, that should be:
"go off with HIM"
Police are searching for her father, John Rollins Tuggle, who was convicted in 1995 for the statutory rape of his sister-in-law. He served nine years in prison and was released in January 2004. He moved to Colorado where he has a brother.
Tuggle is six feet tall, 200 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be driving a red Ford Escort with Colorado license plate number 329-JXG.
Anyone with information can call 9-1-1 or the Shoshone County Sheriff's tip line at (208) 556-1983.
Idaho authorities identified 37-year-old John Rollins Tuggle as the suspect in the case and issued an arrest warrant charging him with attempted murder. They said no other suspects were being sought.
Criminal records obtained by 7News show Tuggle served nine years in an Idaho prison for the statutory rape of a relative. He was released from prison in January 2004. Tuggle lived with his brothr in Hayden, Colo, the Routt County Sheriff's Office told the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper. He most recently worked as a painter in Steamboat Springs, the newspaper reported on its Web site.
The girl lives in Idaho. Tuggle had traveled there to visit his daughter, who he apparently hadn't seen in 10 years.
There is a new term in here for me. What is a $10 million dollar warrant? I've never seen an arrest warrant with a dollar sign attached to it before.
Please tell me that the mom didn't willingly allow this POS to take the little girl. That's just crazy!
If that scummy sumbitch so much as comes near me or mine, I'll waste his filthy hide on the spot. The $10 million will go to proper charitable causes, minus the cost of my spent ammunition.
When is this society going to realize that no change is possible for these people who have uncontrollable urges and no emotion for others, whom they view simply as objects to be used and then discarded? They are predators lower than anything one could find in the animal kingdom and I, for one, am glad that graphic details of these crimes are being put out there by the media so that all of us can know what kind of ghouls our judges are turning loose on our children and on society.
I wonder if he did it in order to get back at his ex.
Me, I don't know; but that would buy a whole lot of buckshot.
Given his history, she wasn't thinking at all. No way should she have allowed her to leave the house with him.
So the ten million dollar warrant is like a reward, or what?
No argument from me.
It was Fox News. I also heard commentary about it on AM-Radio.
I'll be out in NE cal tomorrow on a gold claim,
it would be nice to meet this POS personally.
And as others have opinionated, death is to simple for this F!
General population is in order. he It, will be caught.
Cheapy. I'd donate the ammo too.
Unfortunately we as Americans are held to a higher standard
by countries that chop off the groins and feet of said people.
PC and Understanding is the A-heel that haunts common sense and Justice..
I Pray and hold belief that justice will be done eventually.
Maybe not in our lifetime.
God Bless.
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