Local fugitive Ewel "Bubba" Scott, who had evaded capture during an intensive multi-day, multi-agency manhunt, ran out of luck and time and was arrested Thursday.
He also apparently had run out of steam.
"I'm wore out. I'm tired," the 44-year-old Scott reportedly told Panola County Sheriff Shane Phelps, who found the shirtless, gaunt-looking man lying flat on his belly in a hayfield into which he had run seeking cover.
Scott, wanted in connection with a laundry list of largely property crimes in both Tallahatchie and Panola counties that continued to grow while he was on the run, was captured shortly after 10:30 a.m. near the intersection of Howard and Mudline roads in the Enid community north of Charleston.
Phelps said the man was unarmed at the time of his arrest and offered no resistance after being ordered at gunpoint to place his hands behind his back and to remain still.
Tallahatchie County Deputy Sheriff Jerry Williams II handcuffed Scott moments later at the scene, Phelps noted.
He was taken first to the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston for processing, arriving at 11:22, and was transported by Panola County lawmen to Batesville for booking little more than an hour later.
Flanked by Tallahatchie County Deputy Sheriff Jerry Williams II, left, and Panola County Sheriff Shane Phelps, right, fugitive Ewel "Bubba" Scott is led toward the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Photo by Clay McFerrin, Copyright 2025, Emmerich Newspapers Inc.)
In Tallahatchie County, according to Williams, Scott faces charges for nine grand larcenies, burglary of a church, burglary of an unoccupied building, burglary of a vehicle, several misdemeanor petty larcenies and felon in possession of a firearm. Excluding additional charges that were to be levied Thursday, Williams said Scott was looking at a bond of $350,000.
In Panola County, noted Sgt. Lisa Sanders, investigator for the Panola County Sheriff's Office, Scott had two existing warrants for grand larceny and burglary of a commercial building and bond had been set at $175,000.
"There's about eight more charges that will be presented to the grand jury on behalf of our citizens for other crimes that he committed," Sanders added.
Phelps noted that Scott may also face federal gun possession charges.
Deja vu
On April 1, 2020, Scott had escaped the Yalobusha County Detention Center in Water Valley, where he was being held on a charge of felony taking of a motor vehicle.
Like the most recent episode, Scott had then baffled dozens of law enforcement personnel with his uncanny ability to evade capture. He was finally taken into custody without incident on May 9, 2020, after being found sitting in a junk pickup in a wooded area off Dees Road in Enid. Scott had told his captor that he was tired of running.
In August 2020, during a plea hearing in Yalobusha County, Scott was sentenced to serve seven years — two for the felony vehicle charge and five more for the jail escape.
However, on Oct. 16, 2024, Scott was released from prison by the Mississippi Department of Corrections after serving just over four years.
Tallahatchie County Chief Deputy Benji McKinney said that after his release last fall, the convicted felon appeared to toe the line, meeting regularly with his probation officer and seemingly staying out of trouble.
Then came summer.
"We began receiving reports of burglaries, thefts and ATVs and dirt bikes coming up missing [in Panola County] around June 25," said Sanders. Scott became a suspect.
McKinney said he was first proven to be the "main suspect" on Aug. 8, when the deputy found in Tallahatchie County a vehicle that had been stolen in Lafayette County. He said Scott's wallet and ID were inside the truck.
For Sanders, she said suspicions about Scott were solidified on Monday, Aug. 11, when he was spotted by law enforcement driving a stolen ATV but managed to escape after ditching the ride.
The capture
When the owner of an abandoned house on Howard Road dropped by to check on the property Thursday morning, she had no idea that when she opened the door she would come face-to-face with the fugitive, who was sitting in a recliner.
Phelps said the shocked woman hurriedly turned and left, then called 911. The call log at the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston indicates the call came in at 9:20 a.m.
"My units, along with Tallahatchie units, went to the abandoned house," he added. "Of course, when they got there, he was gone."
Phelps said Scott ran out after seeing the woman and "hit the woods" nearby.
Scott is believed to have walked the mile or so from the abandoned house to a nearby occupied residence, where he was possibly looking to take another vehicle, Phelps noted.
Phelps said he was driving in his truck searching the area when he reached the intersection of Howard and Mudline roads.
"When I turned on Mudline Road, I happened to look to my left and I saw somebody getting into a white Ford pickup that was sitting there at the intersection in a driveway. I said, 'That looks like him.' When I backed up — he was sitting on the passenger's side — he jumped across the driver's side and took off running."
Adrenaline kicked in for the hunter and the hunted alike.
"While he was running around the house, I was driving around the house," recalled Phelps. "I didn't want to lose him, because I know he's a ghost. When he hits these woods ... he just absolutely ghosts, disappears on us. So I didn't want to lose sight of him."
Phelps said both runner and driver circled the house "four or five times" before Scott "tried to make a run for it and went across Mudline into a huge hayfield" where the grass was as tall as the windows of his pickup truck.
Phelps said he drove into the field while Deputy Williams, who had reached the scene, went in as well.
"I went to the right in the field," Phelps noted. I knew [Scott] was laying down somewhere, because there was no way he had time to get away. I was right on him. So, I jumped out of my truck, got on my siderails and I saw him laying there. I told him to put his hands behind his back, don't move ... and Bubba came and put the handcuffs on him."
"We've got him in custody," Phelps was heard saying on a police scanner at 10:38 a.m.
Scott, a former resident of Enid in Tallahatchie County, has most recently lived near Batesville in Panola County.
Teamwork
During a more than three-day, meandering excursion, primarily in northeastern Tallahatchie and southwestern Panola counties, sometimes over difficult terrain, Scott led dozens of local, state and federal lawmen on a frenzied pursuit that entailed significant resources and manpower.
"We put a lot of man-hours into this," said Phelps, who noted that he also was speaking for Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly, who was out of the state Thursday to transfer a prisoner from Missouri back to Tallahatchie. "I know, and Sheriff Fly knows, that the people who live in these communities were scared. We were getting numerous calls of sightings. They were scared to go to sleep at night, because they didn't know if they were going to have a break-in of the house or he would get one of their items."
People and assets from numerous agencies were involved in the search for Scott, including a helicopter from DeSoto County, drones from Tate and Panola counties and K-9 units from Panola and DeSoto counties.
Fly, who spoke with The Sun-Sentinel by telephone Thursday morning, said he appreciated "everybody that's been involved in this search. I appreciate Sheriff Phelps, Panola County and all of my deputies for their hard work."
Phelps, too, expressed gratitude for everyone who aided the effort.
"I want to echo what Sheriff Fly has said, that we want to thank everybody, and Sheriff Fly, as well," said Phelps. "He wanted me to tell all the other agencies, thank you so much for everything that y'all helped us do to get him."
Members of multiple law enforcement agencies pose for a group photo outside the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston after bringing in fugitive Ewel Scott on Aug. 14, 2025. (Photo by Clay McFerrin, Copyright 2025, Emmerich Newspapers Inc.)
Involved at various times over the course of the search operation, which at its greatest strength Monday included up to 50 people, noted Phelps, were the Tallahatchie, Panola and Yalobusha sheriff's offices; the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force; enforcement officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; Panola County Emergency Operations; DeSoto County Sheriff's Office; DeSoto County Search and Rescue; Tate County Sheriff's Office; and the Batesville Police Department.
"If we left out anybody, we're sorry," added Phelps. "It's good that North Mississippi can work together like we do. I mean, we call each other, we depend on each other. Sheriff Fly's guys have been over in Panola, and my guys have been in Tallahatchie. We just work great together. I'm glad that I can sit here and say that."
Fly said he was grateful for a safe outcome for everyone.
"Nobody was injured," Fly noted. "[Scott] is safe and our law enforcement officers are safe."
Scott was known recently to be in possession of a .243 rifle with scope as well as a pistol. As of his arrest Thursday, those weapons had not been located.
Aid and comfort
A woman identified as Scott's girlfriend, Terry Gray, aka Terry Reader, 35, was arrested at 1:24 a.m. Wednesday and charged with accessory after the fact of a felony, grand larceny and conspiracy. Her bond was set at $150,000 and she is being held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler.
McKinney said Gray is suspected of being with Scott Tuesday night (Aug. 12) when he allegedly stole a four-wheeler from a residence on Cosby Road, drove it to an occupied mobile home on Havens Road and went inside. McKinney said officials received a tip about the location and went to that address. He noted that Scott is believed to have escaped the house by diving through a rear window. "We chased him that night, and the woman misled us on which way he went and what he had when he left," McKinney charged.
Phelps said it is believed that Scott received aid from multiple people during his flight from justice.
"No doubt," he noted, when asked about the question of assistance being given to the fugitive. "He's got pants on and shoes. A couple of days ago, he had shorts and no shoes."
After Scott's arrest, the investigation now turns to a search for those who helped him.
"We're going to do everything we can for the next couple of days to find out who was assisting him and helping him," said Phelps. "So, when we find out you were assisting him in any kind of way ... we will bring charges on you for assisting him. So if you helped him, you might as well come on down and turn yourself in, because we're going to charge you."
'He's not getting out'
Just two days before Scott's capture, Fly was asked about the felon's early release last fall.
Fly said that under state sentencing and incarceration guidelines, under state law, nonviolent offenders are required to serve only 25% of a prison sentence and can get early release in the form of probation or parole.
"It's frustrating," Fly had said. "There's no doubt about that."
Phelps echoed those remarks Thursday.
"It's very frustrating when our guys and ladies are busting their butts out here, making a case on somebody, and we get them sentenced and then they get out [early]," Phelps noted. "Say, if they're supposed to have a 10-year sentence and they get out in three or four years, or they go to jail and have a bond."
Phelps said the bond process is often misunderstood by the public
"A bond is not meant for punishment; it's meant for you to show up in court," he said. "If it's a $100,000 bond or a $1 million bond set by the judge and they can make that bond, they can get out. People say we let them out. We didn't let nobody out. That is the law, the court. If somebody gets a bond, they have a right to bond out. Do I agree with it on a lot of times? No, I don't agree with it in a lot of cases. But, that's the law."
Speaking of Scott in particular, Phelps said, "As far as I'm concerned and Sheriff Fly are concerned, he's not getting out, [but] once the court system does something, that's out of our hands. I want to be sure the people understand that. Me and Sheriff Fly will do everything we can to keep him locked up. But if it goes through the court system and he gets out, it does not come back on us."
