WAYNE COUNTY, Utah — The U.S. Marshals warned that John Freeman Colt may have been drifting from campground to campground in some Western states after escaping from a Kansas mental facility in June. Utah deputies collared the dangerous fugitive and sex offender in Wayne County, according to reports.
Colt, 42, escaped from the Larned State Hospital in Kansas where he was part of a sexual predator treatment program earlier this year. He was involuntarily committed to the mental institution after serving a five-year prison term for sex crimes, burglary and attacking police, FOX 13 Utah reported.
Following his prison sentence, Colt was deemed too dangerous to be released and committed indefinitely to the mental hospital’s Sexual Predator Treatment Program, according to the news outlet.
“John Colt presents a clear threat to the community every day he is not in custody,” U.S. Marshal for the District of Kansas Ronald Miller had previously declared before Colt’s capture in Wayne County. “He has been deemed a sexual predator, and the U.S. Marshals consider his escape a major case and are devoting all available resources to his capture.”
To make his escape, the man dressed himself in a staff uniform and obtained a fake ID badge. Once he was dressed like an employee, he successfully talked his way through a series of five secured doors to complete his path to freedom, according to FOX 13.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Colt’s last known location was in Scott City on June 30 and he was believed to have been camping out at state and national parks in Utah, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, South Dakota and Texas.
It’s worth noting that Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were found shot to death and partially disrobed near their campsite outside Moab, Utah, on Aug. 18. The women were last seen alive leaving Woody’s Tavern on Aug. 13.
The couple told friends earlier that a suspicious man was creeping them out near their campsite and they sought to relocate, FOX News reported.
“We don’t think they got a chance to,” said Cindy Sue Hunter, a local business owner who was first to discover Schulte’s body off the trail. “We think they were ambushed.”
Thus far authorities have not said there is a connection between Colt’s escape and the double homicide.
John Freeman Colt, 42, escaped from a state mental hospital in Kansas. He is considered a dangerously violent sex offender by the FBI.
The double slayings shocked the small community, which has a population of just over 5,000 but sees a huge number of visitors passing through.
A $20,000 reward has been offered by local businesses and donors for information that could crack the case, the sheriff’s office said.
