Jason Laird, 44, of Gainesville, was recaptured in Brixey four days after his escape from a work detail on the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Laird’s capture in the wooded area of Ozark County ended an extensive manhunt.
“It was an extensive manhunt for over four days trying to locate Mr. Laird,” said Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin. “Laird was brought into custody without incident. We had received information that he had stashed the vehicle at Miss Kandace Newton's residence. Later information confirmed that the vehicle was at that residence. We made contact and later the information brought us to another resident in the Brixey area.”
Martin stated Laird was in the Brixey area and had people he was comfortable with harboring him during his time in Ozark County.
“Once we had located the truck it was pretty obvious that he was in the Ozark County area,” Martin stated. “Mr. Laird in the past has been known to be a survivalist. He stays out in the outdoors and likes to be out in the woods. That is his niche in life. We knew that he probably wasn't going to be in a residence. He was hopping from property to property through the fields in the woods.”
On Saturday, June 26, the Ozark County/Douglas County multi-jurisdictional task force observed an individual, Alvin Searcy, with local warrants and arrested him at his residence. Sheriff Degase saw Laird and entered the residence but Laird escaped. Fortunately, a wary citizen pulled up and alerted the officers to his location just north on Highway N trying to flag a ride.
“A citizen from Ozark County had stopped in the road and said, ‘hey, he's right up here,’ which is basically 100 yards north of where we were,” Martin said. “We were able to locate him quickly and apprehend him. My job is to keep the citizens of Ozark County safe. I want everybody to feel safe in their homes.”
Martin stated Laird had previously been a fugitive from justice in 2020 and had victimized locals while on the run.
“His M.O. was to steal vehicles, break into houses, break into property that did not belong to him, steal items,” said Martin. “He had stolen firearms he had stolen numerous items throughout his reign in 2020. Mr. Laird is very resourceful. He was nicknamed the Ghost.”
Martin said Laird was only captured by teams from Ozark County, the Douglas County Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the West Plains/Howell County SWAT team, and the Oregon County Sheriff's Office working day and night.
“Our mindset was we have to take him into custody before anything happens,” said Martin. “It could have gone any way, thank God that it went the way that it did. Nobody was hurt. Nobody's property was destroyed. Nobody had their house broken into.”
Laird surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody without incident. He was severely hydrated, said Martin.
“Our officers gave him water, we got him taken care of. We got him back to the jail by the next morning the Department of Corrections was here to pick him up,” he said.
Kandace Newton and Alvin Searcy each face a felony count of hindering prosecution.
