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Oklahoma Blue Alert suspect Michael Garrett captured after standoff near Rush Springs
Michael Nathan Dale Garrett, 39, was taken into custody Thursday after a multi-day manhunt when law enforcement tore down a home near Rush Springs where he was hiding. The search began after a burglary in Mead where Garrett allegedly fired at a homeowner and deputies.
RUSH SPRINGS, Okla. â A multi-day manhunt for a suspect at the center of an Oklahoma Blue Alert ended Thursday when law enforcement captured Michael Nathan Dale Garrett after tearing down a home near Rush Springs, authorities said.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued the Blue Alert for Garrett on Tuesday. On Thursday, law enforcement with armored vehicles surrounded a home at the corner of County Road 1530 and County Street 2920, about nine miles east of Rush Springs. At least four tactical vehicles were brought to the scene, and an excavator tore down most of the home. Garrett was found hiding inside and taken into custody.
The manhunt stemmed from an incident in the town of Mead, where Garrett was accused of firing shots at a homeowner and Bryan County deputies during a burglary gone wrong. No one was injured.
"After that round was fired at the homeowner, the homeowner evacuated, and the subject began shooting again outside the residence. It looks like he shot out the bathroom window," said Bryan County Sheriff Joey Tucker. "Our deputies begin taking rounds of fire too from the tree line. Our deputies did not have an opportunity to return fire because they could not see the suspect at that time."
Garrett, 39, is 6 feet tall, weighs 180 pounds and has brown hair. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt and shorts of an unknown color, carrying a black backpack. On Tuesday, the Garvin County Sheriff's Office shared pictures of Garrett and said it received a report of a possible sighting. On Thursday, the Stephens County Sheriff's Office said deputies were also searching for him after receiving a report that he was seen on a stolen side-by-side near Foster.
Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett said deputies detained a woman who said she dropped Garrett off in the area along Highway 29 between Pauls Valley and Elmore City on Tuesday. Authorities could not confirm that Garrett was in the area, but law enforcement searched the area.
Garrett has prior offenses in Bryan County. The latest was filed on Oct. 30, when he was charged with two second-degree burglary counts and being a felon in possession of a firearm after he broke into a church in Durant. He bonded out on Nov. 2.
"He has an extensive record already," Tucker said. "He's been out of that prison system for a little while."
The capture brings an end to a search that had put residents across several counties on edge. The Blue Alert system, which is used to notify the public about threats to law enforcement, had been activated earlier in the week.