Search continues for convict
By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
The search for an escaped convict from Mississippi continued in eastern Franklin County at press time.
Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said Arthur Gareth Milks, 32, of Orlando, Fla., fled on foot from Russellville officers during a Wednesday night traffic stop.
Hargett said Milks escaped on Feb. 23 from the Tippah (Miss.) Regional Correctional Facility, where he was serving a combined 80-year sentence for several burglaries, receiving stolen property and unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Milks is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. He is white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses and has a mustache. Hargett said he was last seen wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and denim jeans.
Hargett said Russellville Officer Carvel Loyd, who works the night shift, was making a patrol of local motels Wednesday when he noticed Milks acting in a suspicious manner. When Milks left the motel, Loyd followed.
Milks stopped and fled on foot, away from Loyd and Officer Bill Simpson.
Hargett said Milks ran southeast of the highway into a wooded area. Officers searched for Milks the rest of the night and into Thursday.
A helicopter was used for a visual search Thursday afternoon.
Macedonia Baptist Church, located on old highway 24, was broken into sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday. Nothing was taken, but evidence suggested someone slept there and used the bathroom, according to authorities. Hargett said it was likely Milks is the culprit in the break-in.
Authorities do not believe Milks is armed, but they do consider him dangerous. Hargett said Friday that the search had been scaled back.
The Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Limestone County Department of Corrections tracking dogs and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office have aided Russellville police in the search.
Hargett said anyone with any information about the case should contact the Russellville Police Department at 332-2230.
