Pubdate: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 Source: Des Moines Register (IA) http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051116/NEWS01/51116004/1001/NEWS Copyright: 2005 The Des Moines Register. Contact: http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123 Bookmark: Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) AUTHORITIES FOLLOWING TIPS ON ESCAPEES No Link To Body Found In Burlington Authorities have received tips about two dangerous Iowa prison escapees being seen in Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis and New York City, but none of the reports have been confirmed, officials said today. The missing inmates are Martin Shane Moon, 34, serving a life sentence for a murder in Clarke County, and Robert Jospeh Legendre, 27, who was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping in the state of Nevada. They escaped about 6 p.m. Monday from the Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison by using a hand-fashioned rope with a grappling hook to climb over a limestone prison wall where a guard tower was left unstaffed because of a cost-cutting move. Gene Meyer, director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said today it's not surprising that suspected sightings of the inmates are being reported because of national media attention given to the escapes. Investigators are pursuing leads about the escapees' possible whereabouts, but both men remain at large, Meyer said. The body of a woman slain in Burlington, about 20 miles north of Fort Madison, was found this morning, prompting speculation the death could be linked to the missing inmates. However, Meyer said there is no indication the two convicts killed the woman. "We are investigating the death of a female in Burlington, Iowa, and at this point we have some very good investigative leads in the case," Meyer said. "We have no reason to suspect that our escapees are involved in that investigation in Burlington." Shortly after the escape, a bicycle was stolen near the prison and it was found in Fort Madison near a car that had been stolen, said Jim Saunders, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The 1995 gold Pontiac Bonneville with Iowa license plates 776 NOW has not been recovered and the fugitives may be traveling in the vehicle, he said. The car had a half-tank of gasoline and $12 inside, Meyer said. "With no other resources .... and $12 to buy a bit more gas, that can get you 250 miles pretty quickly," he said. However, he added that he can't say with certainty that the two inmates have fled the Fort Madison area. A search by authorities is still underway in southeast Iowa for the inmates. The Fort Madison police, the Lee County Sheriff's Department, the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation all are involved. Authorities in Missouri and Illinois also have been contacted. The Fort Madison prison is only about two blocks from a bridge that crosses the Mississippi River into Illinois, and about 25 miles from the Missouri border. "Officers are certainly patrolling rural parts of southeast Iowa ... but we have been prohibited from any kind of air search just because of yesterday's weather and high winds today," Meyer said. State officials have considered using helicopters from the Iowa National Guard and airplanes from the Iowa State Patrol for the search. Staffing at prison guard towers at Fort Madison, Anamosa and Mount Pleasant was reduced under budget plans proposed by Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002 and approved by the Iowa Legislature. State prison officials said at the time they planned to acquire new high-tech security gear to prevent escapes that would require a one-time expense of $3.5 million. The equipment was subsequently installed at the three state prisons, and state officials estimated they would save at least $1.5 million annually in operating costs by eliminating a total of 38 correctional officers' positions at the three prisons through attrition.