Couple's dramatic 911 call after being held hostage by escaped Georgia inmates: 'Get the police out here'
— -- The couple held hostage by Georgia inmates Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose, who were armed and on the run for over 48 hours after one of them shot and killed two correctional officers Tuesday, made a dramatic call to 911 on Thursday that led to the dangerous prisoners' capture.
"We’ve had an armed home invasion," the Shelbyville, Tennessee, man says in the 911 call. "They escaped from the prison in Georgia.
"... They took my car. We need help out here quick," the man adds. "Both had, uh, handguns, high-powered handguns.
The man says he doesn't know which direction the suspects went because he and his wife were tied up and had just got loose.
The wife is heard sobbing in the background of the call as her husband speaks to the dispatcher.
"It’s alright. You survived," the man tells his wife. "You survived. You did a good job."
He tells the dispatcher they weren't injured, saying, "I don’t need an ambulance. Just get the police out here as quick as you can."
Hours before their capture, Putnam County, Georgia, Sheriff Howard Sills said the public was in "grave danger" and that authorities did not know where the dangerous inmates were.
Here is how the dramatic apprehension unfolded:
Between 5 and 5:30 p.m. local time Thursday, the couple reported that they had been held at gunpoint and tied up during a home invasion, Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing said. The escaped inmates allegedly held the couple hostage for hours, from about 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time, said Josh DeVine, spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The man and woman were threatened during the ordeal, Swing said. One victim had broken free, but was tied up again, Swing said. Rowe and Dubose ate food in the couple's house, Swing said, and later fled in one of the couple's cars, after which the victims were able to free themselves and call authorities.
After a Rutherford County, Tennessee, Sheriff's Office unit spotted the couple's stolen car on the road, authorities were called in and they pursued the suspects in a 10-mile chase with speeds reaching over 100 miles per hour, officials said.
Two of the sheriff’s office vehicles, with deputies inside, were fired upon during the pursuit, said Dan Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
Rowe and Dubose then crashed and fled on foot, Goodwin said.
The inmates allegedly went to another home to try to steal a vehicle there, but an armed homeowner detained the suspects until the authorities arrived, officials said.
The prisoners surrendered in the driveway of Patrick Hale, a married 35-year-old man with a young daughter.
"I prayed like I have never prayed before," he said at a news conference today of the moment he saw the prisoners approaching. He backed up as the inmates moved closer. He didn't draw his weapon, he said.
Hale said he realized he had two ex-cons wanted for murder who just fired at law enforcement and had nothing to lose, but for some reason, they started to surrender and laid down on their stomachs in his driveway, where they were arrested by responding authorities. When officers approached, Rowe and Dubose surrendered and were taken into custody without injuries, Goodwin said.
Hale said he thinks the men surrendered because his car resembles a police vehicle.
Rowe and Dubose made their first appearance while in Rutherford County custody today, waiving their extradition to Georgia.
The massive manhunt began Tuesday morning, after Rowe and Dubose, who were cellmates at Baldwin State Prison, overpowered two correctional officers who were driving a transport bus along Georgia State Route 16 in Putnam County, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
The prisoners allegedly breached a protective gate on the bus to reach the officers at the front of the bus, before disarming and killing them both, the sheriff's office said. It is unclear which inmate shot and killed the two correctional officers.
The prisoners, armed with the officers' weapons, then allegedly carjacked a resident who was driving by, and fled west toward Eatonton, the sheriff's office said. Police believed the suspects then stole a second car in Morgan County, Georgia, near a home where they were believed to have broken into to change clothes, authorities said Wednesday.
The two men were cellmates and friends in prison, and may have planned their escape; however, the bus ride Tuesday morning was unscheduled, officials said.
At the time of the shooting, 31 other inmates were on board the bus, which was en route to a diagnostic facility when the escape took place. Those inmates provided assistance to investigators, officials said.
Rowe is serving life without parole for armed robbery, the department of corrections said, and Dubose is serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery.
The slain Baldwin State Prison officers were Christopher Monica, 42, who was hired in 2009, and Curtis Billue, 58, who was hired in 2007, Georgia Corrections said.
"Both officers were known for their unwavering commitment to their job and their love of family," the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement.
Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Gregory Dozier said, "Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of two of our officers, who are our family."
ABC News' Dominick Proto, Stephanie Fuerte and Jason Volack contributed to this report.
