Escaped Convict Moves In To Mayes County Couple's Home

While a Mayes County couple was out of a town an escaped convict moved in.

Steven Newby escaped from a Tulsa half-way house earlier this month. One family said they saw him on their property and discovered he had been in their home.

That family said they're having a hard time sleeping at night knowing he's still on the run.

Deputies with the Mayes County Sheriff's office are actively searching for Newby, but so far haven't been able to track him down.

One family said they spotted him on their property, found evidence he was inside their home and possibly stole a shotgun and even took a shower.

3/30/2015 Related Story: Search For Escapee Armed With Shotgun Centers On Spavinaw

The peace and quiet of Spavinaw makes the perfect backdrop for Danny Curry and his wife's home; it's a perfect hiding place for an escaped convict.

"I saw something move over by the cedar tree there, I thought ‘Is that a deer,'” Curry said.

Curry said he saw Newby, an escapee from Avalon Center, a half-way house in Tulsa, hiding out in the woods on his property.

"I spotted him the same time he spotted me and I said ‘There he is,' and he took off running," Curry said.

He just got back from out of town when he walked inside his home and saw it wasn't as he had left it.

“He broke that window right there and used a cement block to climb up the window and he just tore the place apart," Curry said.

He said a shotgun was missing as well as all the food in the pantry. Most of the bedroom quilts and sheets were also gone; Curry said he found one lying in the woods.

“This is where he took a shower, you can see how dirty it is down there and he left a bar of soap there," said Curry.

Mayes County Sheriff's deputies have patrolled the area and even conducted a two-mile manhunt but didn't track Newby down.

"I was advised by people that knew him well that, basically, he was a camper. He could live off the land, you know, I mean scurry up game if he had to," said Captain Rod Howell.

Curry said until Newby's caught he won't stop worrying the escaped convict will be back in the area.

"I just think everyone needs to be on guard,” he said.

Deputies believe he may be traveling around different properties in Mayes and Delaware counties and could be armed with a shotgun.

If you see him, call the Mayes County Sheriff's office.

Neighbors said Newby grew up in Spavinaw and knows the area very well.

Deputies said the area he was last seen is filled with hills, caves and is heavily wooded.