PEARL RIVER COUNTY, Miss. (WHLT) – Mississippi deputies announced that a man and a woman, who were wanted in Colorado, have been captured.
Pearl River County deputies said they received a call from a citizens around 8:15 a.m. concerning a man who matched the description of Johnny Morris, 46. The citizen reported Morris was attempting to break into her vehicle.
Deputies and Picayune police responded to the scene and began a search of the area. They located Morris and Hailey Cole, 43, around 9:00 a.m., camping in a shed. They were both taken into custody without incident.
Morris and Cole were wanted in connection to an alleged homicide in Colorado. The investigation spanned multiple counties in Colorado, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) confirmed the discovery of the vehicle, which had been the focus of a multi-state search.
According to the EPSO, the investigation began just before 7:00 p.m. on December 19 when deputies responded to a home on Pima Drive. While on scene, deputies discovered “large quantities of blood” in multiple locations throughout the home.
On Monday, December 23, EPSO asked the community for help looking for a black Audi A4 with Colorado license plate “MYZFYT” that was tied to the missing persons case.
Then, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Park County deputies responded to a home on Campfire Road near Hartsel for a welfare check. While responding, deputies found a black Audi at a trailhead about half a mile from the Campfire Road home, and it matched the BOLO for the El Paso County missing persons case.
EPSO was contacted, and deputies responded to the scene in Park County. Meanwhile, Park County deputies searched the Campfire Road home on the welfare check, where they found an adult man dead.
According to the coroner, the person was identified as 65-year-old Timmy L. Hudson, of Hartsel. Hudson’s death is under investigation by multiple agencies, including the coroner’s office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The EPSO asked the community to be on the lookout for a blue 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck with a distinct “HUNTER” sticker on the left fender, as well as Morris and Cole. Authorities said they both had familial ties to Pearl River County. The vehicle was later located on Saturday, December 28 in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area.
Morris and Cole were booked into the Pearl River County jail on outstanding Mississippi warrants from Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) for failure to appear for receiving stolen property and for contempt of court – failure to appear.
Additionally, Morris and Cole were charged with commercial burglary and attempted residential burglary.
The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office is in close contact and coordinating with Colorado law enforcement.