Fugitive couple  John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch were finally finally arrested near the town of Springerville in Arizona. The arrest came after a forest service ranger saw the vehicle used by the couple near an unattended campfire in the campground in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest. The ranger called the local authorities and the police. After some verifications, it was found out that the vehicle was stolen. A sheriff’s SWAT was called to close in on the couple. Fidencio Rivera, the chief deputy U.S. marshal for the Arizona district, told the media that “within a couple of hours, the police responded, put a team together and arrested the couple safely without anyone being hurt.”

McCluskey later told authorities that he would have engaged in a gun battle with the SWAT team if he had the chance. He also said that he wished he had killed the forest ranger when he saw him. Welch had attempted to get a gun but the SWAT team was quick at disarming her. Welch is McCluskey’s cousin and fiancee.

The SWAT team knew that the couple would fight it out if given the chance, they know that that the fugitives were armed and dangerous. McCluskey was serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder and other crimes when he escaped from an Arizona prison on July 30, apparently with the help of Welch.  Goss