Jet Ski Fleeing Child Rapist Caught

Bruised, battered child rapist who escaped prison on jet ski finally nabbed at Quality Inn with his family

(NYP) A convicted child rapist who dramatically escaped an Arkansas prison on a jet ski has finally been captured a year later — along with the family members accused of opening fire to help him flee, the US Marshals Service said.

The fugitive inmate, Samuel Hartman, 39, was nabbed at a Quality Inn in Lewisburg with his wife, his mother and his mom’s boyfriend on Tuesday — a year after he escaped from the East Arkansas Regional Unit prison.

Hartman, who was serving a life sentence for raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter, had been on the lam ever since his wife and mom allegedly helped him flee while he was out on a work detail in a field near the detention facility, the Marshals Service said.

The two women — Misty Hartman, 39, and Linda Annette White, 61 — are accused of driving a pickup truck to the field on Aug. 12, 2022, and opening fire on a corrections officer as Hartman ran to get inside.

They then allegedly drove the vehicle to the nearby Mississippi River, where they’d planted two jet skis to help them escape, authorities said.

The jet skis were later found abandoned on the Mississippi side of the river and a witness reported seeing a man and two women riding them across the water, according to the agency.

Samuel Hartman, 39, was nabbed at a Quality Inn in Lewisburg, West Virginia — covered in blood — on Tuesday afternoon, the US Marshals Service said.

-Arkansas Department of Corrections

Investigators later determined that the inmate’s mom had ties to West Virginia.

An image released by the feds Tuesday showed Hartman’s face covered in blood after he was finally apprehended.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the perp’s injuries.

Hartman’s mom’s boyfriend, Rodney Trent, 52, was also arrested at the hotel Tuesday afternoon, the Marshals Service said.

He faces felony charges for allegedly harboring a sex offender and for assisting the trio while on the run. The service didn’t elaborate on what charges Misty Hartman and White are facing.

He was captured alongside his wife, Misty Hartman, mom, Linda White, and his mother’s boyfriend, Rodney Trent.

Hartman was serving a life sentence for raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Hartman had been on the run since August 2022 after his mom and wife allegedly aided his prison escape.

Arkansas Department of Corrections

The suspects are all expected to be extradited to Arkansas as soon as possible, an Arkansas Department of Corrections spokeswoman said.