The Tennessee Highway Patrol and law enforcement authorities in DeKalb, Warren, and Smith County are searching for two people at this hour, one of whom they believe is the Missouri felon they’ve been looking for since Thursday. The ground and helicopter aerial search is being conducted in the Temperance Hall community after the men abandoned their vehicle following a THP pursuit around 8:30 a.m. this morning (Saturday). Tracking dogs are also being used to assist officers in the manhunt.
Officials say if one of the men they are looking for is Kirk Douglas Fincher of Kansas City, Missouri, he is considered dangerous. He and the other person, believed to be Nicklas Hickson, were in a gold 1997 Toyota Avalon, the same one they allegedly stole in White County Thursday.
Fincher is a 39 year old white male. He has brown eyes and weighs approximately 215 pounds.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, the THP got in pursuit of the Avalon this morning from Interstate 40 through Smith County and into DeKalb County. The Avalon went out of control on the Temperance Hall Road near the Walker Creek Bridge and spun out. The men abandoned the vehicle and took off on foot. Officers found a loaded 9 millimeter pistol in the car. The men were last seen heading toward Smith County on the Old Lancaster Road. One of the men has black hair and was wearing a black shirt and black shorts. The other man was wearing a light colored vest.
Authorities are asking residents in the Lower Helton, Walker Creek, and Temperance Hall areas to stay inside their homes, keep your doors locked, and make sure all doors to your vehicles are locked.
Fincher was one of three occupants in a 2002 Black Ford pick-up truck who lost control and
crashed Thursday during a pursuit on Old Kentucky Road in White County. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Thursday morning, Trooper Michael Loftis observed the Ford pick-up on Interstate 40 at mile marker 287 in Putnam County. Trooper Loftis attempted to stop the truck for following
another vehicle too closely, and that is when the pursuit began. Trooper Loftis followed the vehicle on Highway 111 South to Old Kentucky Road before the suspects crashed near the airport area.
Fincher was released from a Missouri prison in January 2008, after serving a 17-year sentence for homicide of a police officer. Authorities found ammunition for various weapons in the wrecked Ford pick-up, but no guns were recovered. Later in the day, Fincher allegedly broke into a White County home and stole a 1997 Toyota Avalon. The Toyota Avalon has a moon-roof and non-factory tinted windows with a chrome ring around the license plate.
A 17-year-old occupant of the vehicle is in custody. He was spotted near a church by local residents and arrested at approximately 4:20 p.m., Thursday, by a White County Sheriff’s deputy and Trooper Loftis. The third suspect, Nicklas Hickson, at last report was still at-large.
Deputies from the White, Putnam and Cumberland County Sheriff’s departments, along with the Cookeville and Monterey Police Departments assisted in the initial manhunt. Authorities thought at the time that Fincher may be heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Anyone with information regarding Fincher’s whereabouts is urged to call the Tennessee Highway Patrol or the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
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