Authorities Re-Capture Letterman Kidnapping Suspect

SWAN LAKE, Mont. (June 13, 2007) — An escaped prison inmate once accused of plotting to kidnap David Letterman’s son was recaptured Wednesday, but a man who fled with him was still on the loose, authorities said.

Kelly A. Frank was arrested along a highway in northwestern Montana after six days on the run, Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson said.

Montana State Prison warden Mike Mahoney said he was told Frank was arrested at a cabin that may belong to the family of the other fugitive, William J. Willcutt, who had been serving time for burglary. He said Frank would be arraigned in Lake County on escape charges and other charges related to burglaries and thefts while the two were missing.

“He will have a nice laundry list of additional felony charges,” the warden said.

U.S. Forest Service workers had spotted Frank and Willcutt on Tuesday bathing in a creek in the Flathead National Forest near Swan Lake in northwestern Montana, authorities said. Both men fled when they realized they had been seen.

“One was out (of the water) long enough to get partially dressed, but the other didn’t have a chance to get much on,” Mahoney said.

Officials found Department of Corrections clothing at a nearby camp site, along with an address book and other items that identified the men as Frank, 45, and Willcutt, 22.

The two inmates had escaped on Friday while working at a Montana State Prison ranch near Deer Lodge, about 120 miles south of Swan Lake.

The search for them initially focused on the mountains near Deer Lodge, where a missing ranch truck turned up. But that shifted to the Swan Lake area on Tuesday after a vehicle was found abandoned in the woods and was traced to Anaconda, not far from the prison ranch. The car’s owner said his house had been burglarized and three weapons were missing, according to the authorities.

Employees at a store in Clancy, near Helena, also reported that a man they believed was Willcutt stole three knives, a box of .38-caliber ammunition and food from the business during the weekend.

After the sighting at the creek near Swan Lake on Tuesday, local, state and federal law enforcement moved in, warning area residents to stay inside and lock their doors and checking recreational cabins and campgrounds in the area.

They were still searching the area for Willcutt on Wednesday.

Willcutt had been serving prison time for burglary and was denied parole earlier this year. Frank would have been eligible for parole in three months.

Both men now face additional prison sentences of up to 10 years for escape, prison spokeswoman Dana Eldredge said.

Frank was arrested in 2005 on allegations he crafted a plan to kidnap Harry Letterman and the boy’s nanny for a $5 million ransom. A charge of solicitation to kidnap was dropped in return for pleas of guilty to other charges, including felony theft and misdemeanor obstruction. Frank, who worked as a painter at Letterman’s ranch, received a 10-year sentence for theft for overcharging Letterman. At the time of his arrest, he was on supervised release for a 1998 conviction for stalking and intimidating a woman.

Letterman’s production company has not commented on the escape. Authorities have not said if they have increased security around the talk show host’s 2,700-acre Montana ranch.

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