Skeptical Cabbie Tips Off Cops

But He Had 'No Clue' During Ride His Fare Were Alleged Fugitives

(CBS/AP)  Gwyn said the Hyattes will be brought back to Tennessee to face first degree murder charges. They were arrested nearly 300 miles north of Kingston.

According to U.S. Marshal John Schickel, detectives tracking the couple got a tip around 9 p.m. that the couple was at the Columbus motel after cab driver Wagers, who had driven the couple there from Erlanger, Kentucky, called police.

The fare for the 115-mile trip was $185 and the couple handed him two $100 bills at the beginning of the trip, Wagers said at a news conference Thursday.

"In the cab business, technically that might've been a little bit light on the tip but when you're getting a $185 cash trip, when they only throw in another $15, you're not going to think anything bad. You're going to say you appreciate it and you're going to go on your way," Wagers said.

After Wagers' call, authorities surrounded the Columbus motel, said Bolen.

Authorities called the couple's room, told them they were surrounded and the couple came out of their room and surrendered, Bolen said. They didn't say anything during the arrest, he said.

Earlier in the day, federal authorities said the van used as a getaway car by the couple at the courthouse turned up outside an Econo Lodge motel in Erlanger, Ky.

The Hyattes were nowhere in sight, but authorities knew then that they were getting close to finding them.

Blood was found in the motel room in Erlanger, and an employee at a nearby restaurant told federal agents she had given directions that day to a couple she later recognized as the fugitives.

Another car was reported stolen in the area of the hotel in Erlanger; officials haven't said if they believe that vehicle might be linked to the couple.

Jennifer Hyatte was a prison nurse when she met her husband, and was fired last year for sneaking food to him. A few months later, she got permission from the warden to marry George Hyatte, a man with a long and violent criminal record.

Before the escape, George Hyatte had been in court on a robbery charge.

His escape was at least the fifth time has gotten way from law enforcement officials. The other escapes were from local authorities in east Tennessee in 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2002.

CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports this isn't the first time George Hyatte is accused of using a woman to help him escape. Authorities say a few years ago, he escaped from a patrol car, with the help of a woman (not Jennifer), after a convenience store robbery.

Jennifer and George Hyatte got married in May.

Before meeting George, Jennifer had no criminal record.

"You are left grappling for answers and trying to figure it out. What was she thinking?" Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said Wednesday.

"I guess it is anyone's guess," Johnson said. "She married the guy, so you have to assume there is some sort of love connection."