Watch CBS News

Hunt For Suspect In Rye Murders Intensifies

Harry Mapps from Pueblo SO
Harry Mapps (credit: Pueblo County Sheriff's Office)

RYE, Colo. (CBS4) - The hunt for a man accused of murdering three members of a Colorado family has gone nationwide.

Firefighters found the victims in a burning home two weeks ago in the town of Rye in southeastern Colorado.

The search for Harry Carl Mapps, 59, has expanded from statewide to nationwide with the U.S. Marshals Office calling Mapps an extremely violent fugitive.

Roderick Family
The Roderick family (credit: CBS)

"We do consider him armed and dangerous; to be desperate," Chief Deputy Kenneth Deal, U.S. Marshal said. "Maybe desperate and willing to do anything to further his ability to stay on the run."

Mapps is the prime suspect in the arson and triple murder.

Firefighters discovered the bodies of Dawn Roderick, 33, and her parents, 51-year-old Reginald Tuttle and 55-year-old Kim Tuttle, after putting out a fire at the home in Rye. They had been shot to death before the fire.

Deputies say the arson was likely done to cover up the killings. The victims' family says they want Mapps captured.

"He took the mother of my children," Dawn Roderick's husband Mark Roderick said. "Kind of disbelief. I had never seen him violent, I've never even seen him lose his temper, so I'm kind of in disbelief, but just real surprised."

Mapps had been working for Tuttles as a handyman and rented a room from them. He was last seen in La Junta where he cashed a forged check from his employer's bank account.

"I'm sure he's utilizing those funds in order to support himself while he's on the run," Deal said.

Mapps was last seen driving a blue 2004 Chevrolet mini-van with the Texas license plate 7FSNK.

There's a $5,000 reward for a tip that results in his arrest. Call (877)-WANTED-2 (926-8332) with information.

More Rye Murders Stories

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.