It has been revealed that Tennessee quadruple murder suspect Austin Drummond was arrested thanks to a brave man who just so happened to spot him walking in the woods.
Drummond, 28, is alleged to have murdered Adrianna Williams, 20; James Matthew Wilson, 21; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15, in Tiptonville, Tennessee on July 29.
Drummond, who was not related to the family but had dated one of Rose’s sisters, had also left James and Adrianna’s baby girl on a ‘random’ front lawn around 40 miles from where the bodies were found.
His seven days on the run ended when Ricardo Contreras called the police on Tuesday morning about a suspicious man walking through the woods.
‘What happened was, we were working over here and we saw the guy walking in the middle of the woods. And we thought, like, “nobody wants to walk in the middle of the woods in the middle of this stuff,”‘ Contreras said.
‘So I called the police immediately when the guy was walking right there and we gave them the location and everything,’ he added. ‘Actually, I was on the phone when they got him. And I’m really glad they got him.’
Contreras wasn’t the only person to call in about Drummond, with Jackson Police Chief Thom Corley revealing that multiple tips came in that morning.
Drummond was arrested by three nearby officers at 9:05am, Corley said during a press conference.
Before his arrest, Drummond was last spotted on Sunday night in the city of Jackson, around 70 miles from the murders, wearing camouflage and armed with a rifle.
Officials shared surveillance footage of the alleged quadruple murderer as they warned locals to ‘exercise extreme caution’ until the ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect was caught.
The motive for the murders is still not known, with Drummond out on bond for an attempted murder charge from his time in prison. He had been released from a 13-year prison sentence for armed robbery in September 2024.
Cops had warned that Drummond may have altered his appearance while on the run, and the image released from his capture showed that he had shaved off his goatee that he had in his last mugshot.
The murders were discovered after police were first alerted to James and Adrianna’s baby girl left in a car seat on a ‘random individual’s front yard’ in Tigrett, Tennessee.
A local said they saw a white vehicle pull into the yard, drop off the child and speed away, triggering an urgent search for her family.
Law enforcement said in an initial social media post that they were trying to locate Rose, Williams and Wilson, believing they could be suspects in abandoning the infant.
But during the search, cops made a second, far more chilling discovery around 40 miles away in a wooded area in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
The four family members were found dead with gunshot wounds, and Drummond was announced as the prime suspect two days later on July 31.
In the week that Drummond was a fugitive, cops arrested three people in connection with the murders, including Dearrah Sanders, 23, who allegedly ‘assisted’ the killer.
Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, 29, were also arrested during the manhunt, and all three are facing charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Authorities have not yet detailed how the three individuals allegedly helped Drummond.
Drummond was wanted on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and unlawful firearm possession, and officials were offering rewards upwards of $30,000 for information leading to his arrest.
The suspect was out on bond for an attempted murder charge that occurred while he was in prison when the killings took place.
Drummond had been recently released from a 13-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
The motive behind the slayings has not been determined, although officials said that Drummond was known to the family.
A relative wrote on social media that during Drummond’s relationship with one of Rose’s sisters, he had been ‘literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids’.