Rapist, Hostage Sought by Posse Over Wide Area
Hundreds of searchers with bloodhounds and helicopters Thursday scoured a four-county area for a thrice-convicted rapist and accused murderer who abducted a dispatcher and escaped from the Upshur County Jail.
“We don’t have any idea where he is,” said Chief Deputy James Beasley. “We just know where he started out from.”
The inmate, Jerry McFadden, who calls himself “Animal,” overpowered a jailer and a guard Wednesday evening before abducting dispatcher Rosalie Williams, 24, wife of a Department of Public Safety trooper, and driving off in her Datsun sports car.
Authorities said the search for the inmate and his victim involved 187 state and federal officers from a variety of agencies. Williams’ husband was also participating.
McFadden, a former oil field worker, made his escape when he was released from his cell to call his wife, authorities said.
The inmate, described as 6 feet 1 inches tall, 220 pounds, has been in prison for three rapes. He is charged with capital murder in the slaying of Suzanne Harrison, 18, a high school cheerleader from Hawkins who disappeared with two friends while on an outing to Lake Hawkins May 4.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
