UPDATE, 9:10 p.m.:
Authorities say the two escaped inmates wanted in the slayings of two Georgia prison guards were captured after a car crash and foot chase in Tennessee.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles says police in Shelbyville, Tennessee, got a call about a home invasion Thursday. She says Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose held an elderly couple captive and then fled in the couple's vehicle.
Police responded and started chasing the pair. Miles says the inmates got in a wreck, left the vehicle and then led police on a foot chase.
She says both men were taken into custody in Christiana, Tennessee.
UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.:
Authorities say they have captured two escaped inmates wanted in the slayings of two Georgia prison guards.
GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles says 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose were apprehended Thursday in Christiana, Tennessee.
The inmates were being hunted in the killings Tuesday morning of two prison guards who were overpowered, disarmed and shot to death on a prison bus southeast of Atlanta.
Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue were slain. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills called the fugitive inmates "dangerous beyond description."
Authorities had offered a $130,000 reward for information leading to their arrests.
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UPDATE, 1 p.m.:
The FBI is rolling out what it calls "a significant media effort" including "a nationwide billboard campaign" to appeal for help from the public in tracking down two inmates sought in the killings of their guards on a Georgia prison bus.
Agent David LeValley, who runs the FBI's Atlanta office, says the billboards will offer specifics about a reward, now up to $130,000, and a nationwide tip line for the case, at the number 877-926-8332.
LeValley stresses that the reward is for information leading to an arrest. He says "We do not offer rewards for someone to be brought in dead or alive."
The fugitives — 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose — are believed to have stolen a white Ford F250 pickup truck with the Georgia tag BCX-5372 around midnight Tuesday in Madison, Georgia.
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UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.:
Authorities say the reward has increased to $130,000 for information leading to the arrest of two escaped Georgia inmates wanted for killing two prison guards.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said law enforcement agencies in Georgia and beyond are conducting "the greatest effort I have ever seen" to hunt the fugitives — 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose.
Authorities say the men overpowered two guards on a prison transport bus Tuesday and grabbed their guns. Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue were fatally shot.
Sills says it's possible the escapees may have fled Georgia after three days on the run. David LeValley, agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta office, told reporters that "we are expanding, not shrinking, our effort to find these individuals."
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UPDATE, 7:30 a.m.:
Funeral arrangements have been made for one of two prison guards killed when two Georgia inmates escaped from a prison transfer bus this week.
The Williams Funeral Home & Crematory website shows that the service for 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica will take place at 2 p.m. next Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in Milledgeville. Burial will follow in Heritage Memorial Park.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says inmates 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose are accused of killing Monica and 58-year-old Sgt. Curtis Billue early Tuesday. The manhunt for both inmates continues into its third day Thursday.
Monica and Billue were officers at the Baldwin State Prison.
The website states that Monica was a Chicago native and had lived in Baldwin County for the past 20 years.
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UPDATE, 4:40 a.m.:
The search for two Georgia inmates sought in the killing of their guards during an escape from a prison bus went into its third day Thursday and the scope of the manhunt is expanding.
Authorities do not know whether Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose are still in Georgia or still traveling together, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told reporters Wednesday.
"They've certainly had time to get out of the state," Sills said.
Sills said the two inmates overpowered and killed Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue early Tuesday on a bus that should have been secured as it carried inmates between prisons. He said the two then carjacked a driver who pulled up behind the bus and fled in his Honda Civic down state Highway 16 in Putnam County, southeast of Atlanta.
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UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.:
A Georgia sheriff says the reward is now $115,000 for information leading to arrests of two inmates who killed two guards and escaped from a prison bus.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says in a brief email to The Associated Press that "many significant contributions" boosted the reward from $70,000.
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose have stolen at least two vehicles for their getaway.
The first was a Honda that was found hidden in woods near a house they ransacked about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the site of the killing. Police say they then stole a white pickup truck from an industrial site in the area.
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UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.:
A Georgia sheriff says a green Honda stolen by two inmates who killed their guards before escaping from a prison bus has been located.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said the "grass green" Honda Civic was found Wednesday in a wooded area in Madison not far from a house that the pair had burglarized Tuesday. Sills said the car was intentionally concealed.
Authorities say the two men overpowered and killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Sgt. Curtis Billue on a prison transport bus on state Highway 16 in Putnam County before fleeing in the stolen Honda.
Authorities say the two men then traveled about 25 miles north to Madison, where they broke into a house Tuesday morning and then stole a white Ford F250 pickup truck with the Georgia tag BCX5372 from a nearby industrial site.
Authorities don't know whether the two men are still in Georgia or whether they're traveling together.
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UPDATE, 1:55 p.m.: A Georgia corrections official said two escaped inmates accused of killing two prison guards have known each other for "quite a while" and it's possible they planned the escape together.
Department of Corrections Assistant Commissioner Ricky Myrick said 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose have been cellmates more than once, but he wasn't sure whether they were cellmates at Baldwin State Prison just prior to their escape.
Authorities say the two men overpowered and killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Sgt. Curtis Billue on a prison transport bus before fleeing in a stolen car.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said the pair ransacked a house in Madison, about 25 miles north of where the killings happened, and then stole a white pickup truck from a nearby business.
Sills said both men were violent repeat offenders and are considered armed and dangerous.
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UPDATE, 1:35 p.m.: A Georgia sheriff says two escaped inmates accused of killing two prison guards are believed to have stolen a white pickup truck.
Authorities have said 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose overpowered and killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Sgt. Curtis Billue and escaped from a prison transfer bus around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Immediately after the escape, authorities said, the two carjacked a driver and fled in his green Honda Civic and went to Madison, about 25 miles to the north, where they burglarized a house.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said Wednesday that the two are believed to have stolen a 2008 white Ford F250 pickup truck with the Georgia tag BCX5372 from a business about 9 miles from the burglarized house in Madison. The truck was stolen between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Sills says the green Honda still hasn't been recovered and it's unknown whether the two men are still traveling together.
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UPDATE, 11:15 a.m.:
A Georgia sheriff says authorities still don't know the whereabouts of two escaped Georgia inmates accused of killing two prison guards.
Authorities have said 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose overpowered and killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Sgt. Curtis Billue and escaped from a prison transfer bus around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said Wednesday that the two inmates "thoroughly ransacked" a house in Madison, about 25 miles north of where the escape happened, several hours after the guards were killed. Sills says they took some food and likely some clothes and left their prison uniforms behind.
Sills says authorities aren't sure where they went after that, but he suspects they're no longer in the Madison area.
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UPDATE, 7:45 a.m.:
The reward has increased for information leading to the arrests of two escaped Georgia inmates accused of killing two prison guards.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an email Wednesday that multiple agencies have contributed $70,000 to the arrest of 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose.
Authorities say Rowe and Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants 42-year-old Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
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UPDATE, 3:29 a.m.:
Authorities say two Georgia inmates serving long prison sentences and "dangerous beyond description" overpowered and killed two guards on a prison bus before fleeing in a stolen car.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says the deadly escape happened about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday as the guards drove 33 inmates between prisons, and it set off a massive manhunt involving local, state and federal officers.
Sills was emotional as he described the scene.
Stills says Donnie Russell Rowe, serving life without parole, and Ricky Dubose, who has prominent tattoos on his face and neck, overpowered, disarmed and killed Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue and then carjacked a driver who happened to pull up behind the bus on a rural highway.
They got into the "grass green," four-door 2004 Honda Civic with the Georgia license plate number RBJ-6601 and drove west on state Highway 16 toward Eatonton, southeast of Atlanta.
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UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.:
A Georgia sheriff says authorities still have no idea where two escaped inmates wanted in the killings of two guards are right now.
But Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says the fugitives did commit a burglary in Madison, about 25 miles north of the spot where they previously seen carjacking a motorist after escaping from a prison bus.
He says an intense manhunt focused on Madison after two men fitting the description were seen entering a Family Dollar store there, less than a mile from a house that was burglarized.
He says authorities have no reason to believe the two inmates have split up.
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
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UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.:
The family of a Georgia prison guard killed when two inmates escaped their prison bus is worried about the other law enforcement officers now searching for the fugitives.
Jim Green, an attorney speaking for the family of Sgt. Curtis Billue, said in an email that "Officer Billue's family asks for prayers for all of those who are now placing their own lives at risk to bring these men to justice."
He says the family also asks anyone who has information that may assist in apprehending these perpetrators to please contact law enforcement."
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed 42-year-old Sgt. Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
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UPDATE, 4:20 p.m.:
A reward of $60,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrests of two escaped Georgia inmates accused of killing two prison guards.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an email that multiple agencies have contributed to this sum. The agency tweeted that the amount is likely to increase.
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants 42-year-old Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
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UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: Georgia's governor is committing to using every state resource necessary to capture two inmates who authorities say killed two guards and then fled.
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants 42-year-old Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
Gov. Nathan Deal said the Putnam County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation with the help of multiple state, local and federal agencies.
Deal said of the officers: "The selflessness and courage of these two brave souls will not be forgotten, nor will their sacrifice and service."
The governor urged anyone in the surrounding areas to be cautious while the inmates remain at large, saying they are extremely dangerous.
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UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Georgia's top prisons official compared the slaying of two prison guards to losing family members.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier told reporters: "We lost two of our fellow officers, two of our kin. We see our officers as family."
Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison officers Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.
Dozier says Monica was 42 and leaves behind a wife, while Billue was 58 and is survived by his father, brother and sister. Dozier said the officers' families are "dealing with it the best they can at this point."
Dozier said the inmates were being moved from a state prison in Hancock County to a diagnostic center in Jackson to determine their next placement. He said protocol is to have two armed corrections officers on the bus but that the officers don't wear bullet-proof vests during transfers.
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UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: Authorities in Georgia have released another photo showing prominent tattoos on one of the two escaped inmates accused of overpowering and killing two guards on a prison bus.
The photo of 24-year-old Ricky Dubose released by the Elbert County Sheriff's Office shows tattoos above his eyebrows and across his neck. He appears to have a crown tattooed above his right eyebrow and writing above his left eyebrow and on his neck.
Authorities say Dubose and 43-year-old inmate Donnie Russell Rowe were last seen headed west on state highway 16 after car-jacking a green Honda Civic. They were armed with the officers' weapons and are considered extremely dangerous.
The Georgia Department of Corrections identified the slain guards as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison.
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UPDATE, 11:10 a.m.: Authorities in Georgia have identified two prison guards they say were killed by inmates who escaped during a bus transport.
The Georgia Department of Corrections identified the guards as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison.
Authorities are searching for two inmates, 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose. They are believed to have fled in a "grass green," four-door Honda Civic.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says the escape and slayings happened around 7:23 a.m. Tuesday on Highway 16 in Putnam County as inmates were being transported between facilities.
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EATONTON, Ga. (AP) — Two inmates killed two prison guards during a bus transport Tuesday morning in Georgia and were being sought by law enforcement, authorities said.
The two inmates are Donnie Russell Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a tweet. The department is urging people not to approach the men and to call 911 if they spot the pair.
Both men were serving sentences for armed robbery and other crimes, according to the agency's website. Rowe had been in prison since June 2002, and Dubose had been in prison since July 2015.
#breakingnews 2 escaped inmates Donnie Russell Rowe WM 6'1 181#; Ricky Dubose WM 6'1 140# CALL 911 @AP @wmaz @wsb @ajc @cbs46 @telegraphga pic.twitter.com/VY1tmCdzaV
— Georgia Corrections (@GA_Corrections) June 13, 2017
Putnam County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says the incident occurred about 7:23 a.m. Tuesday, southeast of Atlanta. A witness saw the men escape in a dark green Honda, she said.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, "An attack on any American law enforcement officer is an attack on every American law enforcement officer and the principles we all believe in."
Rosenstein said federal resources are being committed to help catch the fugitives.
The names of the prison guards weren't immediately released.
