National Park After Dark - The Murder of Ranger Robert McGhee: Gulf Islands National Seashore

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

When two dangerous convicts escaped from a Florida prison they kidnapped a woman and fled to Mississippi. During the ensuing manhunt for the prison escapees, Florida park ranger Robert McGhee was tragically murdered while on duty. In the years that followed, devastated and angered by the events leading to her husband's death, his wife petitioned and lobbied for change within the prison system.For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Embark: Use code NPAD to save $65 on Embark’s Breed + Health Test and get free shipping.Uncommon Goods: Use our link to get 15% off your next gift,AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase at drinkAG1.com/NPAD.Naked Wines: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99 and join the Naked Wines community, head to NakedWines.com/npad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Close your eyes. Listen to Monday.com. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform. So flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Now open your eyes, go to Monday.com. Start for free and finally, breathe. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope? It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic.

The year 1990 was a rough one for the prison system in the United States. In just that year alone, 7,244 people escaped incarceration. To give you an idea of how much has changed in the past 34 years, Today, it is estimated around 2,000 inmates slip through the cracks and find their way to freedom annually. That number seems like a lot, but that statistic is mostly accounting for people in minimum security facilities, such as local jails. But in the year 1990, particularly Mississippi and Florida, had some high security breaches that allowed murderers to run loose. Some of them got out, and with their freedom, they killed again. others have still not been found.

Like Glenn Chambers, for example. He was incarcerated in Polk City, Florida for murdering his girlfriend and escaping by hiding in a prison delivery truck. He's been featured on America's Most Wanted, but still to this day, he has never been found again. Another example would be when Robert Minnick and James Dice broke out of Mississippi's Clark County Jail only to then kill two people in their homes before fleeing to Mexico. It seemed there was a huge fault in the facilities meant to lock up dangerous people and keep the public safe. But it never garnered that much attention. In fact, it wasn't until when two men in Florida escaped and killed a park ranger inside of a National Park that people began to fight for change. Welcome to National Park After Dark.

Okay, I'm so intrigued by this because one of my favorite shows when it was out and about was prison break. I still have to watch that. I haven't seen it. It's a good one. I think it kind of dragged on a little too long. Slightly too long. Like too many seasons. It's like, okay, this was really good. And I will finish it because I've committed so much of my life to this show. But yeah, it could have been a loyal fan. But like, come on. I'm a lot of it. Yeah. Yeah. I know I have seen, I will say I've seen like a couple like pieces of it. Like I've seen an episode here and there, but I don't really know the whole storyline. So I think that's like one of the. classics I need to jump on and watch. Yeah, if you're ever, like, bedridden for a while, like if you're really sick and you have a lot of time on your hands. Yeah. That's probably one to get into. I'll keep that on my list for next time I'm bedridden and really sick. Okay. I don't know. You. It's a long time from now. But I was just bedridden really sick for a long time, or at least a week straight, which is a long when you can't do anything. Seems like an eternity.

Yeah, it does. But okay. Yeah. So we do have one thing to say. Yeah. We have. We have. have one thing to say before we jump into this episode, and that is, is that we've had a lot of questions about March recently, and we are relaunching our store on Friday, November 8th at noon Eastern Standard Time, 9 p.m. I'm sorry, Pacific Standard Time. And we have a couple new things. We have some new designs. And this is the perfect time to shop for the holidays. If you're looking for something for your loved one or for yourself for the holidays, now is the time to grab it because this will get to you in plenty of time for Christmas. Yeah, and we have a couple new designs, and we also rework some colorways on old favorites.

And we also included some stocking stuffers, some smaller items that aren't, you know, big hoodies or sweatshirts, like just things to stockings are my favorite thing to open on Christmas. So if you are of that mindset and you want to grab some nice things to fill people's stockings with, then we have some of that for you. Sure do. So yeah, this is our holiday collection drop thing. Early November launch, that way, it has plenty of time to get to you guys. No stress. Yes. And that's it.

Yeah, that's it. So now we can go into my episode where I will be telling the story of a National Park Ranger who was murdered after two escaped convicts, kidnapped a woman and fled to Gulf Islands National Seashore. And Gulf Islands National Seashore is in, it's both in Florida and it's in Mississippi. Oh, we've never done any park in Mississippi. Yeah. No, I don't think so. I don't think we've ever gone to Mississippi for an episode. So, hello, if you live in Mississippi, we're here. This is your time. This is your time to shine. We're covering it. Before we get into the full story, I just also wanted to give a little trigger warning for people here. I'm not going to go into grave detail about this, but there is

an instance or a couple instances of sexual assault within this story. There's also other violence. So if you're not in a headspace to listen to that, please don't. And you can skip it and listen next week. If you are going to listen, please take care while listening. And just know that before we get into this. This is very true crime, heavily true crime based. It's a little scary in parts for sure. So going into the park itself, Gulf Islands National Seashore is the longest federally

protected beach in the United States at 160 miles or 257 kilometers long and has been part of the National Park Service since January 8th, 1971. Millions of people venture to the barrier islands located in both Florida and Mississippi for the pristine beaches, turquoise waters, maritime forests, historic forts, bayous, and wildlife that resides there. When you visit the park, you'll have the opportunity to see Osprey, sea turtles, manatees, and more, including black bears, are within this park. And as with all national parks, national seashores are largely run by park rangers who work there. And these rangers are law enforcement officers, but with that role, there's also so much more that you often witness every time you go into a

park. So I wanted to highlight park rangers a little bit here since this story is based around one. So when you arrive to a national park, the entrance station is where you'll be first met by a park as soon as you get into a park. And this ranger is usually there to sell you passes. But they're also there to provide you with information. It's usually a quick interaction. They'll give you a map and tell you to have a nice time. However, if you have questions, they're also a source for all things necessary in the park. The route and trail closures, directions to your campsite, service stations, whatever it is that you need, these rangers now. Next, you might see them outside of a visitor center, giving a group of curious children information on all the animals that roam there.

Or you might see them mitigating animal and human interactions. While they are there to protect people and keep them safe, they're also there to protect the wildlife. and you might see them standing between a visitor and a crocodile to keep a safe distance and handing out tickets to people who disobey the rules of the park. Rangers are also the first on scene when something bad happens. An accident in the park, a fatality, a lost hiker. Their roles are really all-encompassing. I mean, a lot of them are EMTs, they're paramedics, their wildland firefighters,

they're veterans, you know, there are so many hats that these Rangers wear. But it is also important, I think, to note that they're also sworn, sworn in law enforcement officers, which I think sometimes gets lost in all of their other roles. People forget. But Rangers do carry weapons. They can arrest you. They can issue you tickets and they can testify against you in court. And they can also issue warrants for your arrest.

Don't mess with Rangers. Just don't do it. Yeah, don't do it. They can do everything and they do it in the back country. So just like respect. But of course, being a law enforcement officer in such remote landscapes can prove be a dangerous job, and sometimes they can find themselves in life or death situations. When Robert McGee took the oath and became a ranger in 1981, he was aware of the risk involved

with the job. Likely, when he first received the National Park Ranger Manual, one of the first things he read was, quote, the NPS will strive to administer areas in its care in such a manner that they are free of criminal activity that threatens or compromises the ecological health and integrity of protected natural and cultural resources and or disrupts an atmosphere conducive to public safety and enjoyment. Whatever his thoughts were about those risks that came with ensuring that were negated by his dedication to the protection of the parks and the people who visited them. This wasn't the first dangerous job Robert McGee had taken. He was a Vietnam War veteran and a U.S. Navy CB who helped build and repair bases, acted as a first responder for disasters and recovery operations,

provided anti-terrorism protection amongst many other things. When he accepted a position as a park ranger in Gulf Islands National Seashore, it seemed that this would be probably the least dangerous of his previous roles. He knew there were risks, but he couldn't have known what would happen that deadly day on Saturday, May 26, 1990. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Our story begins outside of the park. Over 250 miles away or 402 kilometers at the Holmes Correction Institute, a men's, state prison in Bonifay, Florida. The facility holds a maximum of 1,185 prisoners and has a mix of security levels. They have minimum, medium, and close. Close refers to inmates who are considered

high risk to public safety and require a higher level of supervision. And this is essentially one step below maximum security level. So very severe, but not the worst or the worst. Dempsey Alexander Brunner and John Fred Willard were both imprisoned there. During their incarceration, they had formed a friendship and also had been discreetly planning their escape from it. 29-year-old Brunner was serving a 20-year sentence for sexual battery, kidnapping, and robbery. He was convicted after he had reportedly gone to a garage in Pena Scola, Florida, to end his own life. But while he was there, he met a woman who tried to comfort him. Instead, Brunner insisted that they have sex, and he threatened the woman saying that he killed people before, and then he assaulted her.

In fear for her life, she didn't fight back. back, and later she filed charges against Brunner, along with a civil suit against the garage for not having better security. 27-year-old John Woolard was serving a 15-year sentence on charges of burglary, cocaine possession, battery on a law enforcement officer, grand theft, and escape. As part of their plans to escape the prison, they constructed handcuff keys from antennas and made knives out of barber shears at the prison. They were even able to acquire a map that would then help them in their escape.

On the morning of May 24th, 1990, their chance at fleeing finally arrived when they were both taken from the prison to a hospital for eye exams after they had both complained to the staff about eye issues. When they left the facility, they were not searched. They were made to wear wrist handcuffs, but not the leg shackles and waist chains that were normally required. When leaving the prison site, they were accompanied by a 67-year-old guard, but the two of them were able to overpower him. They managed to stab him with the makeshift knives from the barber shears that they had gotten and steal his 38 revolver. Then they forced the doctor who was seeing them to remove his clothes and they changed into his clothes to kind of disguise themselves a little bit. And they stole the keys to the doctor's 1986 Chevy truck before escaping. The pair headed north and crossed into Alabama, which was less than a half hours drive away.

Once they made it over the border, they drove west towards Mississippi. But two convicts on the run with no money and a truck with only gas in it that was left from the previous owner, they were quickly pretty desperate for cash. It is unknown from any research that I was able to find what they did that first day in those first few hours of freedom besides driving. However, about two and a half hours away from the prison in Bruton, Alabama at 4.45 in the morning, they robbed a motel for everything they had in their cash register. They didn't stop at simply robbing the place, however. The woman they came across at the reception desk was 55-year-old Mary Brunette, and she was alone. She had been working overnight as a night auditor, and her shift was ending soon when they arrived in the early hours. Armed with the pistol, they had stolen from the corrections officer, they held it to her head and forced Mary to leave with them.

They tied her up and threw her onto the floor of the truck where they pressed their feet on top of her. They threatened her, saying if she tried to run, they would kill her, and if an officer came to the vehicle, they would also kill her. They then proceeded to drive her over two hours away to the coast of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where they forced her to check into a hotel for the night with them. Brunner used that night to repeatedly sexually assault Marie. From a report I found in Penicola News Journal, she later stated that only one of the men assaulted her that night. During her interactions with the men, they told her that they, quote, didn't have anything to lose, and that they had fled Florida because they didn't have any opportunity for parole.

So they had been, they both had pretty lengthy sentences. They, at least for one of them, they were only 20 years. They're young. He would have gotten out in his 50s. But still, that's a lot when you're 29 and you feel like that's your whole life. So for them, this was like, you get out now or you're never having a life. Yeah. And that's one of the most frightening things I think anyone can hear is from somebody else who's harming you.

You know, I have nothing to lose. Yeah. It's like there's nothing you can do to stop this. I'm not afraid of anything. Yeah, there's nothing you can bargain with because I don't like, there's nothing for me. Yeah, I don't care. Yeah. It's really, really, um, that's terrifying. Yeah. And to be driven two and a half hours from where you are and not to know where you are and to be with these strange men. And, uh, she didn't really know who these people were. And one, um, report, I did see that she might have saw on the news, um, that someone had escaped.

Okay. But I'm not sure if she knew that these were the guys or not. In the morning of May 26, she found a moment to flee when, according to the Pensacola News Journal from an article dating back to 1990. And I found a lot of my research actually from old news articles back from 1990, like when this was all fresh happening. According to this article, they had actually left her alone in the room for a few minutes in the hotel. And she took that few minutes to bolt. And she ran to the motel's reception office where she was able to tell them what happened and she called the police. and Brunner and Woolard realized very quickly that she was gone, and instead of looking for her, they hopped in the car, the truck that they had, and they sped away from the parking lot, and they just got out of there as quick as they could. After that, they fled south directly into Gulf Islands National Seashore.

That morning for Ranger Robert McGee was supposed to be an ordinary shift out in the field. While I couldn't find his exact movements of his morning, it's fairly easy to imagine what he would have been doing. His normal duties generally had him patrolling the roads, answering questions for visitors, and giving educational ranger talks to curious guests. He most likely arrived that morning for a shift and spoke to other staff members before going out on a routine patrol of the park in his vehicle. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, a police hunt was underway for the two men who had assaulted Murray nearby. Between the time she called the police to the moment he would meet them for himself, wasn't long enough for him to hear the news. Only minutes later, he saw their truck hurriedly driving through the park. While their speed wasn't overly concerning, what grabbed Ranger McGee's attention was that they blew through a stop sign.

This was an obvious safety hazard within the park. Careless driving could result in harming of wildlife or other visitors, and in an effort to stop this from happening, Ranger McGee put on his lights and pulled up behind them to pull them over. The truck obliged and pulled off to the side of the road. He approached the driver's side door, still unaware of who he was about to meet, or what they had done. Turns out he'd never get the chance to fully know. Before he was able to say anything, six gunshots rang out, hitting him in the chest, neck, and head. Ranger McGee fell to the ground, and the truck sped off and made a turn out of the park and back towards Ocean Springs. Meanwhile,

an off-duty park ranger, Everett Whitehead, had heard the gunshots from his home and went to the area to investigate what was happening. It was only a few minutes between the shots fired to when he found Ranger McGee. He was lying on the ground on the side of the road not moving. When he approached, it was immediately obvious that he was severely injured. He called in for backup and by 9.13 a.m., a local coroner had pronounced him dead. Later, an autopsy revealed that his death was due to a gunshot wound to his neck and that it took several minutes before he died. While Rangers in the park were discovering what happened to McGee, Woolard and Bruner were spotted by an off-duty officer, Kent Summers, who was aware of what had transpired with Marie, but unaware of what had happened in the

park. He turned his cruiser lights on and pursued the two men. However, this time, they didn't stop and wait to be pulled over. Instead, they sped up. Still following them with his lights on, they hit a red light, which the two men did stop at. Officer Summers was directly behind the truck when they threw it in reverse and rammed into his cruiser hard. It was hard enough that he sustained minor injuries and bruises. Once they hit his cruiser, both men jumped. jumped out of the truck and made their way to him, carrying the same gun they had just used to kill the ranger. Summers pulled out the gun and let out two shots through his windshield at both of the men. With the shots, he was able to hit both men in the leg. This caused them to retreat and run into the

woods. Only moments later, five more officers arrived on scene. From what I could find, it sounds like because both men were injured, they were apprehended without incident after that. Because of the extent of their injuries, they were brought to the hospital immediately. The bullet had shattered Brunner's leg and whilst in the hospital they couldn't repair it, the decision was eventually made to amputate. Woolard's was more of a superficial wound and he was discharged from the hospital within a few days. Marie had been following what was happening closely. Officers stated that she remained calm and well-spoken about what had happened to her. It wasn't until she found out about what happened to Ranger McGee and how he was killed that she broke down in tears. Following their arrest, Brenner was

charged with capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault on a police officer, two counts of rape, and four counts of sexual battery. Wooland was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault on a police officer, and capital murder. Along with these charges, the prosecution sought the death penalty for both of them. However, that was eventually appealed and decided against. It was argued that they couldn't prove they knew he was a law enforcement officer, and the death penalty wasn't recognized for the killing of federal officers in Mississippi at that time. So they basically said they didn't, they couldn't have known that a park ranger was a real, law enforcement officer and Mississippi doesn't recognize the death penalty for killing of a federal

officer. So the death penalty shouldn't be recognized here. Okay, but he pulled them over. Yeah. It was like a weird argument that I read. I'm like, yeah. It's like they couldn't have like they couldn't have proven that it was a real law enforcement officer. Like Rangers aren't real law enforcement. It was just like a weird thing. That seems like a very weird argument to especially want to have succeeded. because you can present an argument all you want, but I feel like, I mean, they pulled over for... Yeah. But the other argument on that was that in Mississippi at the time,

it wasn't recognized that it's an automatic death penalty if you kill a federal officer. So that was the other argument where it was like, this isn't a mandatory thing. Like, we don't have to do it, I guess. What do you mean? What's not mandatory? Pulling over for an officer?

No, no, no. The death penalty is not. a mandatory sentence. So they don't have to follow through with that. So that was their argument that they shouldn't give that for these two people. And I don't know exactly why they decided not to push that further. But I think it just wasn't really something that they loved doing the death penalty for. But eventually they were both given multiple life sentences and the state of Mississippi without the possibility of parole. When they murdered Ranger Robert McGee, they took away a husband, a father of two children, and his wife, Linda, was devastated.

but also very frustrated and felt strongly that her husband's death could have been avoided if the prison had been more diligent about their security measures to keep inmates from escaping. She was also flat out angry that the death penalty was not considered in the murder of a federal officer. And rightfully so, I mean, if you remember back at the beginning of the story, I said they were not in shackles. All they had were handcuffs. And they only had a single security officer with them and they both had some serious convictions against them to let them out like that. And they weren't checked. They weren't checked. Yeah. Right? No. I don't know. When you were saying that, like when you were describing how they were taken out of the prison for their eye exam, it just seemed to me like there were

so many pieces that had to fall into place for that, like, because you can have an escape plan all you want, but for them to have not been searched. Not been searched, number one. Well, I guess number one would be to actually be brought together at the same time to the same office. You know, I just feel like a lot of pieces. Like that needed to happen first for them to be both approved to be taken at the same time to the same place for the same issue, which seems odd. Suspicious. Yeah.

And then to not be searched and then to only be given one guard and then only partially shackled. And like there's just so many things that had to align, which seems. like they shouldn't have in the perfect world. So I don't know. It just seems like, yeah, I don't even know what my original point was. What were you talking about? I think you're just saying like it seems like a lot of things aligned and is a little maybe, I don't know if you were going for suspicious that something like that would align that way. Or I think of it when I was just researching this that there were just so many faults in the system. Like my assumption is probably

they saw other people go for medical stuff. They had. like a routine. I'm making this up, but like maybe every Tuesday they went for their medical stuff and they went as a group so one doctor could see all of them at the same time. You know, like, I'm sure there was some protocols that they were like, oh, this would be super easy to go through. Oh, they don't even search you if you're going on a medical. So I'm guessing because from the reports I read it sounded like they were planning this for a while. So I'm guessing that they just saw these faults in the system. And took advantage of them. And took advantage of it. Yeah. And Linda, Ranger McGee, wife saw this and was like, why did this happen? Like, how could you let this go forward? I mean,

the whole reason my husband's dead is because of that first thing that you did. But also, this happened to him because of neglect and faulty and faults in the system. And now we're not even going to consider the death penalty for the murder of a federal officer. None of this is, none of this is right. So in retaliations for their negligence, she sued the prison and was awarded $2.2 million. in September of 1993. It was ruled that the corrections department was liable for $1.49 million, and Brenner and Willard were responsible to pay $725,000, which I have no idea how that works, how a prisoner is.

They didn't even have enough money for gas. Yeah, so I don't know how that works at all. But that's what I read in a news article. I mean, I've heard of that before as well where, you know, the person's responsible are directly sent a part of their sentence is to pay out a certain amount of money to the victim or victim's family. But I'm not certain how that works in when that person is imprisoned. So how that I'm sure someone will tell us because. Yeah. My first thought is like if they have anything on the outside, like if they have a wife with a home, like they have to like they would take that or

something would be like yes. But I really, I'm not familiar enough with that. But they were ordered that. And she was given $1.49 million from the corrections department. And after that, Linda was quoted saying, I would gladly go back to three and a half years ago, because this was a couple, this was September 1993, I would gladly go back to three and a half years ago and have my husband back because money doesn't buy happiness

and money doesn't put a smile on your face. She later went on to sue the state of Florida, but it was ultimately decided that the state was not at fault for the prisoners being able to escape. She also lobbied for Mississippi to change their law and provide the death penalty for the murder of park rangers and other law enforcement officers. And from my understanding, after she lobbied and did all of this, her efforts proved to work because today Mississippi does carry the death penalty for the murder of federal officers. Interesting. A funeral service was had in honor of Ranger McGee and he was buried at the Creslawn Memorial Park in Ocean Springs.

He was remembered for being passionate about his job and a very kind-hearted man. He is remembered as a family man, a wonderful husband, and father. Each year, during National Park Week, the country has a memorial service where each year they pick one of seven fallen officers from their area. In 2015, they chose to have a memorial service again for Ranger McGee. The service took place at his gravesite where his daughters and granddaughter, and a representative from the U.S. National Park Service, and the county's officers arrived. Linda, who was living in another state at the time, was not able to attend, but she commented that she still cries when she thinks of him.

And what seems like would be the end of the story is not. Ten years after John Woolard had escaped prison and committed these crimes, he escaped another prison. This time, a prison in Mississippi that led to a three-week manhunt north all the way to Indiana. So he escaped on his own this time. He escaped with another person. Oh, okay. Again, not the same person as last time. Well, it seems like he was transferred, and I would imagine they wouldn't incarcerate these two men together again.

Yeah. Well, also, the other person's also missing leg. That was amputated when he was shot. So he has a lot more difficulty escaping. So John Willard was 37 years old now in the year 2000, and he planned to escape with a 42-year-old inmate named Roy Harper. And I'll get into Roy a little bit later because he's actually very infamous for his jail escapes. Both of them had almost no chance of ever having a life outside of a jail cell, as Roy was serving two consecutive 44-year sentences for armed robbery. They were able to escape their cell after getting a hold of a cutting tool to remove a plate in the wall of their cell, escaping confinement.

Before leaving the cell, they rolled up their sheets to make it look as that they were sleeping in their beds. Then they managed to sneak past the watchtower guards and cut their way through a double stretch of razor-tip chain link fence. It took 12 hours before law enforcement noticed that they were missing. 12 hours. 12 whole hours. Well, I guess if they timed it so that the majority of that time, the officers assumed that they were asleep. Yeah. Yeah.

And that is kind of what they did. And I think that they did it on a day where not a lot was going on because what happened was they didn't notice until that following Sunday. And I think that those, it sounded like Sundays, our days were not much. is happening and they are kind of like to themselves. So it seemed like they were just sleeping in, which was common for inmates to just like lay in bed and not. And then 12 hours later, they're like, wait a second. They're not here. So this gave the two an opportunity to break into an older couple's home, less than a 15 minute drive away from the prison. Robert and Linnell Abbey were just

returning home from church when the two intercepted them, forced them into their house where they tied them up and gagged them. They then stole 11 firearm. ammunitions, $100 in cash, and the couple's car. It took two days before the couple was found, still tied up, on the floor, and dehydrated. They were found by a delivery driver who ended up noticing them. With a car they had stolen, they headed north to West Virginia. In an attempt to conceal the car, they stole Kentucky license plates off of another car and put it on the one that they had. At this point, they were fearful of still being caught, and they felt they needed a different car. So they stopped at a motel, and when 56-year-old Bruce Price was entering his motel room, they snuck up behind him

with a gun pointed at his head. They did not injure Bruce, but they did force him to give him his keys to his Brown Ford van, and they took off again. This time, they made a quick stop to spray paint the van in attempts to conceal that vehicle, and they spray painted it blue. Again, as if Willard hadn't learned the first time, they were recklessly driving and speeding. At about 2.30 a.m., a police officer in Indiana clocked them for speeding, and pulled them over going 75 and a 55, which is like, come on. Why would you do that? Why would you do that? Like, if you already, you're on the run from police. Try and blend in. Yeah. You're, you have a stolen car. You want to bring attention to yourself, like drive the speed limit. I get like nerves are probably high,

but going on, you already got caught because of the same mistake before. So it's like, okay. As the officer approached the car, he saw Woolard, who was driving the car, holding a double-barreled shotgun and fired at him. The officer managed to duck down and missed the shot and unloaded eight shots from his own revolver as the car tried to drive off. After a moment, though, they got caught in a ditch and had to back up. Meanwhile, Harper shot out the window at the officer's car. They were eventually able to drive away. The officer called in for backup and this led to a high-speed chase. They put down stopsticks on the highway and blew out the tires of the van when they had to drive over it. They quickly veered off of an exit and parked at a Petromart truck stop where they drove around the

building and behind a bunch of semi-toreller trucks. So it's like one of those big truck stops with all the 18-wheeler's around. They used the building and trucks as cover as they began shooting at the police that were chasing them. Because it was a public area with a lot of people around, police didn't engage and they wanted to wait it out, calling in for helicopter surveillance instead and focused on getting people away from the scene. This was like pretty crowded area. Like get everyone out. We can't engage with a shootout with these guys right now. So while they were doing this, getting people out, getting a helicopter above to try and see their location, the two fugitives actually took off into a cornfield that was behind the truck stop and fled on foot. Police searched,

but the men vanished and were unheard from again for two more days. A homeowner went into their yard to their back of their shed to grab some flower pots when he found the fugitives hiding out in it. They were armed but didn't fire at him and he called the police. Woolard and Harper stole a van in their driveway and took off again and evaded police. To me it seems like he's trying really hard, especially Woolard, to not have any casualties in this one to like, like they're not firing at anyone even though they're armed and they're like trying to get. I mean, I guess they have fired at law enforcement officers, but they've had the chance twice now to

harm, like, civilian people and they haven't, and I feel like that's because of, like, the shit that that Willard got into the first time. They're like, let's try and do something different to get away, but it's just not, not working. After this, over 200 law enforcement officers were deployed to apprehend them, including the FBI and Indiana State Police. They were eventually found separated from each other two days later. They were charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted battery and resisting law enforcement. Time was added to both of their sentences, but it didn't matter since both of them were never going to get out of prison in the first place.

During their three-week stint outside the prison, America's Most Wanted, featured an episode on the two of them. And as of today, there have been no more escape attempts from John Willard that I could find. However, in my research, I found more information on Roy Harper, and he has actually escaped from prison three times, twice from maximum security. And this is the guy that he linked up with the second time around. The second time, yeah. Okay.

Yeah, he's with this guy the second time around. And he is actually very infamous in his escape attempts and his successful escapes. He was actually featured in a National Geographic documentary about prison breaks. And his last escape was the one that I just told. But he has now switched from trying to escape to writing books on escaping prison instead. And he has like a series of books. that you can read. And they're not, they're not like his stories, but he writes them. They're fictional stories that he writes based on his own experiences and how to escape prison and like what

prison is like. And he's trying to become an author. He's trying to become one or is he one. He's published. So you can actually buy his books. But he's trying to become a successful author. He's been quoted saying like, I could make millions right from prison right here. What am I doing? So he's trying to put out all these books. Make millions for what? Not for him. His books. Yeah, I know. Like, what's he going to do with it in prison? But there have been more escape concerns with him. So he was in Indiana after all of this happened. And actually, they ended up moving him as of 2016. He's in Colorado now because they were concerned. After some stuff was going down in the prison with him in particular, they thought that he was gearing up for another escape. So they moved him to Colorado to kind of change his surroundings. Be like, we can't let this guy get out again. So now he is a writer. As for John Woolard and Dempsey Alexander Brunner, who was, Brenner was the first one and the first one he had his leg amputated. There's very little information that I could find that is available on where they are now. I was able to find an article that stated that one of the men died in 2015, but it did not list who or how.

So what I found was an article that was actually about Linda McGee and the funeral services, not funeral. funeral services, but the memorial service that was had for him in 2015 and one of the officers there informed her that one of the men had died in prison, but it didn't say which one. It was. As for Ranger Robert McGee, he is now commemorated at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. This memorial has over 21,000 names carved onto a wall of officers that have died on that wall as of 2020. 32 of them are of National Park Law Enforcement Park Rangers. With that is also a memorial specifically for Ranger McGee that reads End of Watch

Saturday, May 26th, 1990, along with his cause of death. It reminds me a lot. This story reminds me a lot of the Margaret Anderson story that I told from Mount Rainier, who lost her life in service of. the park and it's just such a shame. I mean, I understand that this happens to law enforcement officers all of the time every day across the country. But it's just, it's just hard to hear, you know, people acting so selfishly and for their own interests and they don't care who gets her. And hearing what Maggie was that her name. Linda, his wife. No, the woman that they took. Marie, sorry.

Who was kidnapped and assaulted. Yeah. It's like just. Like they just don't view anybody, they just view people as either things to use or to get kind of shoved off and out of their way. Just. Yeah. Like ponds in their. Just collateral damage type of thing. And I just, just because you don't have anything to lose, you know, like people just who are like that, they don't think things through it. Like what were, I'm sure you don't know this. But what was the plan? What was the grand plan? What was the end goal here? Like, did they truly think that they were just going to get out on both sides, like the first attempt and the second attempt?

Yeah. I think the biggest thing in this is that there couldn't have been too much of a game plan because they didn't have anyone who was helping them. You know, in all of these, I feel like when you hear of escape attempts that maybe they're not fully successful or ones that are successful, they have help on the outside somewhere because in these instances, they had no money. they had to steal a car. Like they had all of this stuff versus if they had help on the outside, they would have

had someone who could give them cash, give them a car, get them on a train, you know, whatever it is to get it out. And they're just like willy-nilly, like throw it all to the wind. They'll steal from whoever. They'll kill whoever. They'll assault whoever to get what they want and keep going. And it ended up with a loss of life. It ended up with injuries.

It ended up with trauma for people. It's just, it's a really sad story. and Ranger McGee, of course. I mean, he was a Vietnam War veteran. Yeah. You know, he had gone to war for the country. And then he has these two dirtbags that just show up and end his life. In a split second, he didn't even say a word to them.

And we know this because of their testimony later. At least that's what they said. So I guess you can take that with a grain of salt. But they were reported later exactly what had happened. And they said basically he walked up to the side of the car like he normally would on the driver's side. And before he could get fully up to the driver's side, passenger took out a gun and shot him. And he didn't have time to see anything that was going on.

He didn't have time to say a word. And he didn't even know of the story at the time. So it's very possible that he could have been like, hey, you blew through a stop sign. Please don't do that. And they could have been like, okay, that's great. And he might have even let him go because he didn't know. Right. He didn't know what they were there for.

That's a very valid point. I didn't even think of that. I mean, he would have seen the registered car, I guess. But if they could have said they didn't have a license, you know, like they're, he didn't, he, they could have just given up, you know, and been like, you know, we did this. We got to, you can't just like kill people, you know. And there were so many choices they could have made in that moment. But they had already made a lot of bad choices. They had stabbed a corrections officer. They had sexually assaulted a woman. They had stolen a car. And not to mention the list of things that got them sent to prison in the first place. So there's, you know, a pattern of. poor decision making and it's just a shame that multiple people's lives were impacted so negatively because of their actions, you know, not just the person who lost his life. I mean, his wife, his children, the young woman, the correctional officer. Did he live, by the way? He did live, yeah. Okay. I figured. But him and his family, I mean, it's just like just a ripple effect,

just spreading outward to so many different. people and yeah. Yeah, it really is. And then I guess kind of going off of this a little bit in a different direction. But just when I was researching all of this, I just found it, I think maybe I was really interested in prison escapes while I was doing this because also on Netflix right now, there's like this show that is huge. It's in like the top 10 most watched on Netflix at the moment. And it's escaping Denamora. And it's a true, it's based on a true story, the series. It's not a documentary, but it is a true story about these two guys who escaped prison in New York and fled. They had the help of a woman who worked in the prison, but their stories are really,

really similar where when I was researching this and even reading it and then watching that, I'm like, wait a second. Like, hold on. Didn't I just, I'm like, didn't I just read this? Like, what is? And these guys did the same thing. And it was just very, like, in the second escape from prison that I talked about here in this movie, they did the same thing. They cut a hole in the wall. And then it was just like the two of them

escaped. It's just, there's a lot of parallels going on. There were a lot of parallels in it. But if people are interested in hearing more prison escapey, like type stories, it's a really, it's based on a true story. And it's the acting's really well. And it's very, it's a very, very interesting. But I just thought that it was funny that I was researching this and watching that at the same time. It was like, it's a little confusing. Yeah. Just getting like your wires crossed. of it. Yeah. Well, I'm glad you told this one because it was cool to hear a story somewhere we haven't been before. I mean, we had never done a story in this national seashore. And I know it was just like a kind of a blip, but it was really important. And they're really sad to hear,

but like the end of watch stories, I think are good to know because we take, we say it every time we do a story like this, but we take park rangers. I think a lot of time for granted or not as seriously as other law enforcement officers. And I think that's a mistake. And just to highlight and reiterate and recognize all that they do do for not only the parks and the landscape and the wildlife, but for people. And that's, you know, one of their biggest jobs and responsibilities is to keep us safe. And they put their lives on the line just as much as other law enforcement officers. So thank you for covering his story. Yeah, of course. And I agree with you 100%. I mean, to remember the risks that they're taking. So next time you're in a national park, and if you get mad

because a ranger is telling you not to go near wildlife or anything like that, just remember that they're doing a lot more, I mean, when they're protecting the wildlife and you in that situation, but they're also facing a lot of other stuff and to just give them some grace to do their job and behave appropriately in the national parks. I can specifically remember one story where I was in Yellowstone, and there were these people, there was an elk and people were getting really, really close to it. And they were almost within touching distance. And they were taking photos of it. And this park ranger came up and was like, please get away. Ended up standing between the elk and the people to be like, you can't be this close. And I was, so the way it was is I was down river from it and I could see it from pretty

far away. And I saw it. And there was actually a line of cars. We had pulled over because we were like, what are people looking at? You know, like the typical like everyone. over here, what's everyone looking at? So there was actually a huge line of cars and we were at almost the end of the line. And then we saw it was an elk and we were like, oh, it's just an elk. Like, we've seen it down to those. So then we were just kind of sitting there talking. And then I remember this couple walked by us and they were so mad. They were like, God, this ranger is ruining our day. They're making it so we can't, like, why can't we take a picture of the elk? We flew all the way here. We're here to see it. And now we have this ranger who's telling us not to be

over there. Like, this is stupid. And they were venting about it to each other. as they were walking past our car. And I just think it's an, I think episodes like these are an important reminder that they're doing their jobs. Their job is important. And to give them the space to do it, because they're also out here risking their lives. They're also out here doing a lot of work that you probably don't see. And you might see them ruining your photo, but they're also keeping you safe within the park from maybe someone who is dangerous that's there, from wildlife that's dangerous there, from lots of other things. They're going to be the ones there to help you if you have a heart attack while you're in the

park, you know, so give them a little grace and be nice to them. That's right. And thanks for listening. We will see you next week. In the meantime, please enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Bye, everyone. Bye.

Thank you so much for joining us again this week. If you have a trail tale or story suggestion, send us an email at Stories at N-PADPodcast.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at National Park After Dark and on Twitter at NPAD podcast. Join our Outsiders only community on Patreon or Apple subscriptions to listen ad-free, unlock monthly bonus episodes, and exclusive content. And remember, when you support our sponsors, you are supporting our show. For our exclusive discount codes and source information from today's episode, check out the show notes. For more information on our show, our book recommendations, merch updates, and more. visit our website at npaddpodcast.com.

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