Top of The Edge - Fugitives on the Run

They were fairly certain that the fugitives were no longer on either Kiawah or Seabrook islands, but there was still a good chance they could apprehend them. They still needed to traverse either John's or Wadmalaw island to exit the area.

They had both determined that getting some rest would have to wait. Smith, who was studying a Charleston County Street map said, "Hopefully, by now the Charleston County Sheriff's Department is fully involved in the search. Let's take Folly Road to Hwy 700 and then to River Road."

After making her way down the narrow drive from the cabin to Evandale Road, Louise stopped the car and pointed to the road on the map that Billy Cook was currently studying. "We're here. We can go right to intersect with River Rd, which will eventually take us to Fenwick Rd (700)." Billy interrupted, "That's no good, it'll lead us right into a bottle-neck situation."

"I agree." Louise said as she turned the car left toward Inland Road.

"I see several roads that skirt around the main intersection of Inland and 700. They've probably already set up a roadblock there by now."

Louise turned right onto Inland Road and pressed the accelerator-pedal to the floor. Billy was wincing and holding his side with every bump.

"Do you need for me to slow down?"

"No! We've got to get out of here."

Louise had gone less than 10 miles when she slowed down considerably and took a left turn onto what appeared to be a seldom used extremely rough road. "I've never been down this road." She stated hesitantly. "But, on one of the maps I saw in the Charleston County Library, if this is the road, it may take us to a roughly constructed bridge across the river."

"But you're not sure?"

"No, I'm not. I think it's worth checking out though. Besides, considering all the potholes and ruts, I highly doubt they will come driving down this road to look for us."

"Let's do it." Billy said as he braced himself for the jarring that was to come.

It was only a mile or so, but traveling at less than 5 miles per hour, it took nearly a half hour to reach the river. To Louise's delight, there was indeed a bridge that crossed the river. It was roughly constructed from timber that had never been milled. She concluded that it was probably built by one of the local logging outfits, and some time ago by the looks of it. Two of the cross timbers were no longer there leaving a hole big enough to easily swallow the wheels of their vehicle. Louise kept the headlights shining as they both got out of the car to inspect. When they got to the hole which was about mid-way, they stepped over it easy enough, but there was no way they would be able to drive over it. From the looks of things, the old bridge was being used as more of a fishing pier these days than anything else. Several cane fishing poles were propped against an old oak on the other side as well as a damaged cast net that had been discarded. Then they both saw it at the same time. There was a small Jon-boat tied to the foot of the bridge.

River Trip

Billy quickly unfolded the map he was carrying and held it so that it would be illuminated by the headlights, and after studying it for several seconds said, "We can take that boat downstream. Judging by the swift flow of the river, we'll hardly need to do any paddling at all. According to the map it skirts around a little town called Rockville not too far from here. That's where we should go."

"But... what do we do with the car?"

"We ditch it in the river."

"That'll work." Louise responded nodding as she wondered why she hadn't thought of it herself. As Billy shined the flashlight at the rear of the car, Louise opened the trunk and retrieved the duffel bag, dragging it across Ralph's limp body and dropped it on the ground behind the car.

"You need to discard some of the contents of that bag so you can carry it." Louise let out a deep sigh as she opened the bag and began going through its contents. She had put a great deal of work toward procuring and compiling these items. The radio from the house had been a last second add-on as they were leaving. She discarded it into the trunk with Ralph. She did the same with extra pairs of boots and at least half of the canned vegetables, soups, and meats she had packed. Billy Cook was a bit surprised at just how much stuff she had packed away in that single duffel-bag. Finally, she closed it and checked to see if she would have any trouble hoisting it onto her back. It was still heavy but more manageable now.

After latching the trunk closed, Louise got into the driver's seat and slowly drove down the embankment to the river's edge, then she turned the wheels sharp toward the water and jumped out just before it entered the river. Within minutes it was completely submerged. The embankment next to the bridge was plush with undergrowth and the ground was solid, so there weren't any tracks to speak of except for the sandy bank closest to the river's edge. She used her feet and a branch she broke off from a wax myrtle to obscure and cover those tracks.

Not only had they not seen the vehicle that alluded everyone the night before, Officers John Tolbert and Richard Clinton covering the intersection of Folly Road and Hwy 700 had not seen any vehicles at all. The sun was coming up and Tolbert was attempting to get every last drop of coffee from his thermos.

Richard Clinton was relatively new to the force and about a decade younger than his partner. He had nodded off to sleep several times throughout the evening. Every time the more seasoned officer Tolbert woke him abruptly with a shout. "Wake up! People are counting you boy!" There shift was over now, but both men knew that unless the suspects had been apprehended, they would be pulling a double shift. Richard commented, "I sure hope those guys have been caught already. I want to go home and get some rest."

"Wishful thinking boy. But if they had apprehended them already, don't you think we would have been notified about it. I intend to teach you to think yet boy."

"You know Richard, I have a name. It's John, and would you please stop calling me boy?"

"I'll stop calling you boy when you stop acting like one."

"Exactly what are you referring to?"

"Well for starters, falling asleep while on duty and not thinking before you speak."

Suddenly they heard Sheriff Poulnot's voice over the radio. "All patrols will stay on duty while the dragnet is being conducted. Shift 'A' continue your on-going tasks and those of you surveilling roads and intersections, stop every vehicle and ask if they've seen the car and/or the three suspects. Chief Barnes will be working with 'B' shift to conduct the dragnet.

Smith and Tuttle were with Chief Barnes. Smith was able to get his friend J.J. at Fort Moultrie to lend him one of the fort's Army Jeeps, of which he, Tuttle, and Barnes were now driving down the irrigation ditch the fugitives had used the night before. The Jeep was equipped with a tactical radio that Chief Barnes was using to command and monitor the search. The irrigation ditch was rough, slippery and bumpy. Several times they nearly got stuck in the ruts made by the fugitives' get-away car. The possibility that they may have to get out and push nearly became a reality more than a time or two.

Several of the 'A' shift officers were manning the phones at headquarters. With the help of Mr. Vanderhorst, they had compiled an exhaustive list of the land proprietors within the Johns and Wadmalaw Islands area. They were now undertaking the laborious task of getting in touch with each of them and asking if they had any info about the two American Nazi Collaborators that may have rented a place to stay from one of them.

At 7:12 AM Officer Evelyn Fisher made telephonic contact with Mr. McDaniel of McDaniel's produce farm. In his response to the officer's questions, he confirmed that he had rented a place to a couple matching the description, albeit a very limited description.

Only seconds behind patrol car 22Y, Smith, with his passengers Tuttle and Chief Barnes drove the borrowed Army jeep up the drive leading to the cabin that Mr. McDaniel had rented to the Nazi collaborators. Within minutes 12 other patrol cars had converged on the location. They went over the place with a fine-toothed comb. Unfortunately, other than some clothes, cookware, and toiletries, there wasn't much else to find.