Search for 2 Tennessee 'Most Wanted' fugitives spills into and out of Ulster

John Ferro | Poughkeepsie Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Police search in Ulster for 2 Tennessee "Most Wanted" fugitives Police were searching in and around southern Ulster County Saturday for two fugitives who are alleged to have participated in a kidnapping and shooting in Tennessee.

NEW PALTZ - A search for two fugitives on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's 10 "Most Wanted" list began in southern Ulster County Friday night and moved into Orange and Sullivan counties Saturday, according to police.

State police Saturday confirmed that a search was on for a male and a female wanted in connection with a kidnapping and attempted murder Tuesday in northeastern Tennessee.

Residents of the towns of Shawangunk and Gardiner received automated alerts Friday night advising them to secure all doors and report any suspicious activity.

In a statement issued at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, state police said the fugitives were confirmed to have been in Pine Bush, Orange County, and may also be in the Village of Bloomingburg in Sullivan County.

Jarret Heitmann and Makayla Stilwell allegedly kidnapped an individual at gunpoint in Mount Carmel, Tennessee.

They then used the kidnapped victim to lure another individual to the door of a residence in nearby Kingsport, who then was shot, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

It was not immediately known why Heitmann and Stilwell may have fled to the mid-Hudson Valley.

A phalanx of police vehicles was seen moving southbound at high speed through New Paltz at 11:30 p.m. Friday night.

Heitmann is reported by Tennessee authorities to be armed at all times and is known to travel on occasion by freight train and by hitchhiking.

John Ferro: 845-437-4816, jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com, Twitter: @PoJoEnviro