A Tennessee couple taken hostage by escaped Georgia convicts shared their harrowing story in the 911 audio released Friday, the day after the fugitives were captured.
“We’ve had an armed home invasion,” the man on the phone says. “It’s the two people from Georgia — the escapees.”
The 911 dispatcher sounds surprised in response.
“It is?” she asks.
“We need help out here quick,” he responds, providing his address.
The audio is more than three minutes long, and the man remains surprisingly calm as he relates to the dispatcher what transpired during a reported three-hour hostage situation.
Ricky Dubose, 24, and Donnie Rowe, 43, escaped Baldwin State Prison on Tuesday morning while they were being transported to a new facility. The two prisoners shot and killed two correctional officers with the officers' own guns.
They were captured Thursday afternoon thanks to the 911 call from a couple in Shelbyville, Tennessee, who were allegedly taken hostage by the pair of convicts.
The man on the call tells the 911 dispatcher that he and his wife had been bound by the escapees — “both had handguns, high-powered handguns” — but they were able to untie themselves after the fugitives rode off in the couple’s black Jeep Cherokee.
The dispatcher asked if they needed an ambulance.
“I don’t need an ambulance,” the man says. “Just get the police out here as quick as you can.”
It is the following audio that is particularly heartbreaking, as the man’s wife can be heard crying in the background. He attempts to comfort her.
“You survived. You survived,” he tells her. “You did a good job. Come here and let me hold you.”
“It was just so close,” he explains to the dispatcher, assuring her that they don’t need an ambulance.
Once the man confirms the police are on their way again, he says he will be waiting for them outside his home.
“Okay I’m going to hang up,” he tells the dispatcher.
