The vehicle was later determined to have been stolen on September 20,1944,from John Day,Oregon,where a bank had been robbed that same day. The Oregon plates were under the rear seat and the plates on the car had been stolen from a police car in northern Nevada.
Officers from several counties set up roadblocks and patrolled the entire area throughout the night. Near the scene of the shooting,officers located the suspect’s footprints,which showed a bell in the heel of his shoes.
On the second day of the manhunt,local officers were joined by 13 FBI agents. During the previous night,a light had been seen west of the highway about one mile north of Leeds. When investigating the area,shoe tracks with a bell on the heels were located.
On the morning of the third day,a chicken farmer northwest of St. George went to investigate the barking of his dogs. Seeing a man walking on the road to Enterprise and thinking that it may be someone who had run out of gas,the farmer called to him. The man immediately took off on the run and went into some brush. The Sheriff was called and soon discovered the same bell imprint in the footprints.
The search continued without any further sightings. On September 30,1944,Deputy Sheriff Carl Caldwell again found tracks with bell heels. Tracking was very difficult,due to the brush and rock,and was a slow process. At 1:30 p.m.,Deputy Caldwell,along with two FBI agents,approached Quail or Leeds Creek. This area was covered with a heavy growth of Box Elder and Birch trees,and had several intersecting trails. As they approached within a few feet of the creek,a man was seen climbing the bank on the opposite side. The sound of running water had prevented him from hearing the approach of the officers. The officers called to the man to put up his hands and give up. Instead,the suspect reached into a shoulder holster,drew a gun and fired twice at the agents. Instinctively,Deputy Caldwell stepped behind a fallen tree. The agents fired twice at the suspect. The suspect jumped back into the stream and began wading downstream,toward the agents. The suspect had not seen the deputy and was concentrating on firing at the agents.
Deputy Caldwell saw the suspect raise his weapon to fire and immediately returned fire,striking the bank in front of the suspect and showering him with dirt. When the suspect peered over the bank,he could not locate the deputy. Not more than ten feet from the suspect,Deputy Caldwell fired,striking the bandit near the temple,killing him instantly.
A search of the body revealed a second loaded revolver in a shoulder holster. He was wearing a homemade vest with many pockets containing burglar tools,candy bars,fishing line and hooks. He also had a money belt containing $2,000 in currency. The money was later confirmed stolen from the bank in John Day,Oregon. There was no identification on the suspect’s body.
Fingerprints later identified him as Joe Lewis,age 44,New Jersey. He had escaped from the Texas State Prison in January,where he was serving a fifteen-year sentence. He had escaped from the Ohio State Prison before being sent to the Texas Prison.
