A rural Bedford, Iowa, couple was asleep in bed Monday night when an escaped convicted felon broke into their home west of Bedford and held them hostage.
The couple, Jerome and Carolyn Mauderly, 71 and 66, respectively, were held in their bedroom as Rodney Eugene Long, 38, wandered through their home and used their cell phone. Officials did not say who Long called.
Long, who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, had escaped from the Clarinda Correctional Facility early Friday morning. He allegedly shot a Taylor County deputy Sunday night and led police on a 40-minute chase, triggering a massive man hunt in southwest Iowa Monday. The chase ended with Long’s escape within a mile of the Mauderlys’ home.
Officials said the Mauderlys, who had a shotgun somewhere in their house, decided after four hours being held hostage in their bedroom to do something. Long was shot and killed in the Mauderlys kitchen. Police found him lying face down, they said. Officials said he had one wound. The Mauderlys were uninjured, the Des Moines Register reports.
