Update: We've learned that Brantley has turned himself in at Saline County.
Below is the original post.
Eric Brantley
PADUCAH, Ky. - A situation has emerged in Paducah, Kentucky, involving a man from Saline County and another from Madisonville, Ky., as well as more than a dozen stolen firearms that had been reported thieved from Hamilton County.
Willie Ray Wiseman
Here's the press release submitted by Paducah authorities:
Law enforcement authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating two men who fled from their vehicle Wednesday night, leaving behind 29 stolen firearms.
According to Paducah Police, they received a tip from another law enforcement agency that two men and a woman were bringing a shipment of stolen guns to Paducah to sell.
Officers located the vehicle in the 3900 block of Cairo Road, and it fled into a nearby corn field. The three occupants fled on foot, and the female passenger was apprehended and arrested by McCracken County Sheriff’s deputies.
Authorities from several law enforcement agencies searched throughout the night for the two men, but did not locate them. The men, 34-year-old Willie Ray Wiseman, of Galatia, IL, and 45-year-old Eric W. Brantley, of Madisonville, are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. If located, police advise calling 911 immediately.
After the men fled on foot, officers found in the vehicle, 29 firearms that had been reported stolen from Hamilton County, IL, along with a quantity of methamphetamine, marijuana, and 49 Lortab pills.
The Paducah Police Department was joined in the manhunt Wednesday night for Wiseman and Brantley by the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department and its SWAT team, U.S. Marshals, and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, which provided a drone for an aerial search.
Anyone with information about Wiseman's or Brantley’s whereabouts is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550 or Crime Stoppers at 270-443-TELL. Tipsters also may access the online tip form through the City of Paducah website at http://paducahky.gov/west-ky-crime-stoppers. Information leading to an arrest or indictment may result in a reward of up to $1,000.00.
Please share, as there's not been a lot of Illinois coverage of this incident and that's likely where these two might've bolted to.