Kidnapping Suspect Adam Mayes Dead

Alexandria, Kyliyah Bain are safe
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2012 8:38 PM CDT
Updated May 11, 2012 6:57 AM CDT
Kidnapping Suspect Adam Mayes Dead
In this photo made from surveillance video and released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Adam Mayes, 35, stands in front of the counter at a convenience store on April 30.   (AP Photo/Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Adam Mayes, the fugitive accused of kidnapping two girls after killing their mother and sister, shot himself last night after police tracked him down in the Mississippi woods. Acting on a tip, officers searched the densely wooded area west of his home and spotted Alexandria Bain, 12, behind a church. They commanded Mayes to show his hands and surrender, but instead he shot himself in the head with a semiautomatic pistol, the AP reports.

Alexandria and sister Kyliyah, 8, were found lying on the ground nearby, and they appeared to have been in the woods for two to three days. They were suffering from exposure, dehydration, and poison ivy but were otherwise OK, and were only hospitalized as a precaution. Authorities don’t know how the trio survived in the woods but are investigating the possibility that they had help. Though there is still no official word on Mayes' motive for killing mom Jo Ann, 31, and oldest daughter Adrienne, 14, Mayes' wife and mother-in-law indicated that he wanted to abduct the two younger girls because he believed they were his. (More Adam Mayes stories.)

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