A couple who overpowered security guards and escaped months after they were charged in the murder of an Arizona man have been added to the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 Most Wanted list.
The service announced Monday that it had escalated its search for the couple, Blane and Susan Barksdale, who have been on the run for more than two weeks since they hijacked a prison transport van and disappeared.
“The couple’s alleged blatant disregard for human life and the law have made them both a priority for us,” Donald Washington, the director of the marshals service, said in a statement. “We believe this elevation and the public’s vigilance will ultimately result in their apprehension.”
The marshal for the District of Arizona, David Gonzales, said that Barksdale had “a history of involvement with white supremacy organizations,” and that there was evidence to suggest that the couple were getting help from such groups.
Blane Barksdale, 56, is white, 6-foot-5 and has tattoos of swastikas, warlocks and lightning bolts, “all associated with white supremacy groups,” the marshals service said. It described Susan Barksdale, 59, as “a 5-foot-7 white female.”
“I would stress to anybody that is assisting those individuals that we will come after them also,” Gonzales said.
The Tucson Police Department has charged the couple with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, arson and other criminal offenses related to the death of Frank Bligh, 72, in April.
Authorities say that the couple, along with Blane Barksdale’s nephew, Brent Mallard, 31, set fire to Bligh’s Tucson home and caused an explosion. Bligh’s body has not been found, but the authorities believe he was killed.
The Barksdales absconded to Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, where they were found and arrested on May 24.
For three months, the couple were held in a jail in upstate New York. But on Aug. 26, as they were being transported more than 2,000 miles back to Arizona by a private security company contracted by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona, the pair complained of “intestinal issues” and asked the guards to pull over, according to authorities. While the van was stopped in Blanding, Utah, the couple overpowered two security officers and shoved them into the back of the van with a third inmate, authorities said.
From there, the couple went to Vernon, Arizona, where an acquaintance gave them a red pickup truck, according to authorities. They abandoned the locked prison van, but the guards eventually broke free. The third prisoner in the transport van was returned to police custody.
Law enforcement officials said the Barksdales “may look friendly” but urged the public to consider them armed and dangerous, with access to a cache of more than 100 firearms.
Authorities have also increased the rewards for information that could lead to their arrests: up to $25,000 for Blane Barksdale, and up to $10,000 for Susan Barksdale.
Officials are also offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the discovery of the escape vehicle, a red 2004 GMC pickup truck with Arizona license plates 127-XTY.
Blane Barksdale’s former daughter-in-law, Kelly Westfall, spoke to KOLD News 13 in hopes that he would see her message.
“Own up to it,” she said. “Turn yourself in so your grandkids can see you. Otherwise, this could turn out bad.”
