Investigators from multiple agencies are searching the woods of northwest Tennessee for an armed Special Forces veteran suspected of trying to kill his wife, the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Stewart County Sheriff Frankie Gray said 53-year-old Craig Berry shot and killed his wife in Dover, Tenn., near the Kentucky border and had been on the run since early Friday.
“The suspect fled into the woods near the residence prior to deputies’ arrival,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Gray told CNN on Tuesday that a trail camera captured a photo of Berry believed to be wearing camouflage clothing, and Berry has not been seen since.
Gray added that investigators scaled back Sunday’s massive search to Monday because of the weather. But one specific area near the crime scene still needs to be searched thoroughly.
“We’re still focusing on pretty much the same areas, but we’re going to expand it a little bit,” Gray told CNN. “We’re going to be conducting a very, very detailed search. Slowly and methodically.”
A warrant has been issued charging Berry with attempted second-degree murder, the Sheriff’s Office said. His wife has been released from the hospital, the sheriff said Tuesday.
Gray said multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol, are assisting in the search.
The grueling manhunt was particularly challenging given the suspect’s outdoor skills. “Berry is a retired Special Forces veteran with extensive training in survival tactics,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Monday.
“He was an excellent swimmer and diver and was in good physical condition,” the post said. “He was armed with at least one handgun and was believed to be carrying additional ammunition.”
“Craig M. Berry served in the Regular Army as an infantryman (11B) and Special Forces medic (18D) from 1992 to 2016,” said Army spokesman Christopher Surridge. He deployed to Iraq four times and left the Army as a sergeant first class, Surridge said.
Rough terrain also hampered search crews’ efforts. About 30 miles from Dover is the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, considered “one of the largest areas of contiguous undeveloped forest in the eastern United States.”
The photo appears to show Craig Berry, the man accused of shooting his wife before fleeing into the woods. – Stewart County Sheriff’s Office
“We do not rule out the possibility that he received some outside assistance following the incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “We do not have any information to indicate that he is no longer in the area.”
Stewart County Middle School implemented a “soft lockdown” early Monday, meaning all students and staff remain indoors while instruction continues and “no outdoor activities are allowed while the situation is evaluated,” Stewart County Schools posted on Facebook.
“There is no direct threat to any schools,” Mike Craig, the district’s director of schools, told CNN on Tuesday. He said the law enforcement activity occurred at least five blocks from the middle school.
“We didn’t let any parents know in advance because we didn’t want to disrupt their operations and there was no direct threat to the school,” Craig said.
The manhunt stirred memories of another manhunt for suspects in Stewart County over the past few days.
In 2018, murder suspect Kirby Wallace evaded authorities for a week, CNN affiliate WTVC reported. He was eventually arrested and later pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and arson.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
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