MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop G - 1226 W. Bus. 60/63, Willow Springs, MO 65793

News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Jeff Kinder
(417) 469-3121, ext. 3735
G-07171
July 6, 2017

EMPHASIS: Texas County Escapee Back In Custody
On June 26, 2017, Christopher A. Hunt, 33, escaped from a Texas County transport officer while being returned to the Texas County Jail after a court appearance in Phelps County. Hunt had just accepted a plea bargain where he was sentenced to 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for tampering with a motor vehicle. The charges stemmed from a September 2016 incident when Hunt was spotted in Wright County driving a reported stolen vehicle. When officers attempted to stop Hunt, he fled, leading officers from several agencies on a pursuit which traveled into Texas County where he stole another vehicle. At the conclusion of the pursuit, Hunt resisted arrest and assaulted two troopers by spraying them with pepper spray. Hunt was charged in Texas County with two counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, three counts of assault of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action, and resisting arrest by fleeing.

Following Hunt’s escape in Phelps County, troopers from Troops I and G of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and officers from both Phelps County and Texas County sheriff’s departments focused their search in Southern Phelps and Northern Texas counties. Despite a search by Patrol aircraft and the large law enforcement presence, no substantial leads in the case were developed. Investigators with the Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control were called to assist in the investigation. On July 5, 2017, acting on information developed by the Missouri Department of Corrections Security Intelligence Unit, deputies with the United States Marshals Service were able to apprehend Christopher Hunt at a residence in Lexington, Kentucky. The investigation into a person or persons who may have assisted Hunt is still active.
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