Month: August 2025

Officials said on Sunday that two men have been arrested in connection with the murders of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an abandoned infant found alive in Tennessee, while the manhunt continues for the suspected killer, identified as 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) charged Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, 29, with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Investigators allege both men “assisted” Drummond in the murders. The bureau said in a Saturday news release announcing charges against Thomas that “hee should be considered armed and dangerous,” while Brown, who also faces one count of tampering with evidence, was arrested one day earlier.

Authorities have not disclosed how the men allegedly helped Drummond, how the relatives were killed and how the baby ended up in a car seat in the Tigrett area, roughly 40 miles from the bodies. Thomas was in custody at the Madison County Jail on an unrelated charge and would be transferred to the Lake County Jail to be arraigned on the new charges; while Brown was booked into Lake County Jail.

Authorities earlier reveled that they located the vehicle Drummond was believed to be driving, a white 2016 Audi, which was found unoccupied in Jackson, Tennessee. A second vehicle sought in the hunt for Drummond, a 1988 white Ford pickup truck with a red stripe, has been located in Dyer County, the TBI said Saturday.

The TBI said they are continuing their search for Drummond in connection with the deaths of James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15, whose bodies were found Tuesday in Tiptonville, a town in northwest Tennessee’s Lake County. Drummond is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee, according to the TBI.

TBI Director David Rausch said authorities believe it was a targeted attack by Drummond, who had a relationship with the family. The baby is safe and being cared for, authorities have said. Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infant’s parents, and Rose was Adrianna and Braydon Williams’ mother.

Authorities obtained warrants for Drummond, charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses. His criminal history includes prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening to go after jurors. He was also charged with attempted murder while behind bars.

The TBI and the U.S. Marshals are offering a combined reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Drummond’s arrest.

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Authorities said on Sunday that the search for the man accused of killing four people at a Montana bar on Friday morning has expanded.

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest said that more than 16 square miles of parkland is closed through Aug. 16 to facilitate the search for the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, 45. Brown is a former U.S. Army soldier who allegedly gunned down a bartender and three patrons at the Owl Bar next door to his Anaconda home. A motive for the shooting is still unknown.

The national forest’s Pintler Ranger District ordered the area about 8 miles west of Anaconda to be closed through the end of Aug. 16 “to ensure public health and safety during the ongoing law enforcement investigation and search efforts to locate the suspect for the Anaconda murders,” with the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center stating that the closure includes “Barker Lake and surrounding area.”

Montana State Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news conference on Sunday “This is a dangerous individual who has committed an absolutely heinous crime against this community and these victims.” Knudsen also announced an initial $7,500 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect.

Knudsen identified the shooting victims as 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelly, who was the bartender at the time of the shooting; 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Bailey; 70-year-old David Allen Leach; and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. He said Baillie, Leach and Palm were all patrons of The Owl Bar. Knudsen said investigators believe that Brown was familiar with most of the victims, including the bartender: “From what I gather, it sounds like he was a regular at this establishment. He literally lives next door. I think it’s likely that he knew the bartender and these patrons, which even makes it more heinous.”

Brown is believed to be armed and dangerous, according to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center. Authorities said he was wearing a tie-dye shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana on Friday. However, a picture released Saturday by the Montana DOJ showed him fleeing the scene, apparently stripped down to just his boxers.

Anyone with information on Brown’s whereabouts are urged to call a hotline that has also been established through the U.S. Marshals Service: (877) WANTED2.

Editorial credit: Ian Dewar Photography / Shutterstock.com