THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. — Authorities in western Montana were searching Monday for a Michigan slaying suspect who escaped custody over the weekend by removing his handcuffs and shackles at a gas station while being transported to face charges.
Suspect Chadwick Shane Mobley, 42, escaped on Sunday while being moved by a private company under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service through the town of Plains, the Sanders County Sheriff's Office said.
The town of about 1,000 people along the Clark Fork river is surrounded by mountains and portions of the Lolo National Forest.
Local residents were advised to remove their keys and guns from their vehicles, lock their houses and report any suspicious activity. It was unknown if Mobley remained in the area, said Sanders County Undersheriff Jerry Johnson.
Michigan’s attorney general announced last week that Mobley would be charged with felony murder and other offenses in the death of Andrea Eilber, once he was returned to the state. Eilber was shot in the head at her relative's home in Lapeer, Michigan in 2011.
Mobley was linked to the crime by DNA evidence found at the scene that was reanalyzed last year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Mobley had been living in Utah but fled to Montana after being questioned by investigators, authorities said. He was arrested June 28 in Libby, Montana, which is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Plains. It was unclear how he managed to remove his handcuffs and shackles.
The Marshals Service was assisting in the search for Mobley, and local authorities were communicating about the case with law enforcement in Michigan, Johnson said.
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