Woman's Death Possibly Linked to Escaped Inmates

Doni Ray Brown

Timothy Wayne Fletcher

Photo of truck resembling stolen truck

Timothy Fletcher's Tattoos

PUTNAM COUNTY, FL -- The manhunt for two inmates who broke out of the Putnam County Jail continues.

A woman found dead in a home northwest of Palatka may be related to the search.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office says authorities found 66-year-old Helen Googe dead inside a home in the town of Bardin, which is about nine miles northwest of Palatka off State Road 100.

Her car is the one authorities are now looking for in the search for 23-year-old Doni Ray Brown and 25-year-old Timothy Wayne Fletcher.

Relatives told First Coast News Googe was Fletcher's step-grandmother.

Brown and Fletcher escaped from the Putnam County Jail sometime after a cell check at 4 a.m.

Investigators say an officer at the jail saw piles of blankets in the cell to make it look like the men were in their beds.

The officer went inside the cell and noticed the men weren't there. Authorities say the officer noticed some plumbing casing had been pushed aside which allowed the men to crawl out.

According to the incident report, Lt. Stacy Dowling said it looked as if the inmates kicked in the plumbing access door and went under the inside perimeter fence at the jail.

Dowling said the inmates climbed the east interior "disorder" gate and left the jail through the exterior perimeter fence at the visitation gate entrance.

Dowling said he saw footprints leading from the visitation parking lot to the livestock field.

K-9's picked up the scent from there, leading deputies to a nearby business where investigators believe the two stole a red & white 1992 Ford F-150 extended cab pickup truck.

Later that morning, an off-duty deputy with the Clay County Sheriff's Office spotted a gold Lincoln sedan with a tan top on Jacksonville's Westside near I-10 and Chaffee Road.

Investigators say the deputy noticed two men driving the car and thought it looked suspicious.

The deputy wrote down the license plate number, ran the tag, and noticed the name on the car had a connection to the escaped inmates.

The Clay County deputy called the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. A Putnam County deputy went to the home, noticed the car missing, went inside and found the woman dead and the stolen pickup truck abandoned nearby.

Soon after, authorities issued an alert for a gold, four door 1999 Lincoln sedan. The Florida tag is HT8-8TV.

Brown's last known residence was in Satsuma. He was arrested in August 2008 and charged with robbery with a firearm.

Fletcher's last known residence was in Welaka. He was arrested in March 2009 for three counts of failure to appear in court related to an aggravated assault charge.

Investigators say Fletcher has a bulldog tattoo on his left arm, and the word "tank" tattooed on his right fingers. A tattoo that reads "no love" is on his chest, and another that reads "cracker" on his stomach.

Authorities are searching by air and by ground. Deputies are using K9 search teams from the Putman County Sheriff's Office, Palatka Police Department and the Florida Department of Corrections to help find the inmates.

"We are tracking and doing our job," said Sheriff Jeff Hardy. "FDLE is here tracking leads as we speak."

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office loaned its helicopter for an aerial search.

Call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS. You'll remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your information leads to an arrest.

Edited by: Gary Detman Multimedia Executive Producer GMJ \| Facebook \| Twitter \| En Español	Created: 4/15/2009 8:00:07 AM Updated: 4/16/2009 8:28:28 AM Suggest News Tips & Story Leads Submit Video & Pictures