Escaped murderer Buffington recaptured

47-year-old Timothy Buffington, a trusty inmate assigned to the Pine Bluff Unit, left his work assignment on June 21, 2014.
47-year-old Timothy Buffington, a trusty inmate assigned to the Pine Bluff Unit, left his work assignment on June 21, 2014.

A convicted murderer who escaped from an Arkansas prison nearly three months ago has been recaptured in Logan County.

Shea Wilson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction, said Buffington was caught after authorities received a tip at a roadblock west of Booneville that a man matching Buffington's description had been seen along nearby Butler Road.

A state trooper left the roadblock and soon spotted a man in camouflage outside a home on Barber Road, Wilson said in an email.

"As the State Trooper approached the front yard of the home he asked the suspect if he was 'Buffington,'" Wilson wrote. "The suspect confirmed he was Buffington and surrendered to the State Trooper without any resistance."

Arkansas 10 near the Logan/Sebastian County line had been closed while police searched the area. It's since been reopened.

Wilson said Buffington will be held at Varner Supermax prison in Lincoln County.

“We will be talking with inmate Buffington and filling in the blanks of his whereabouts in the coming days,” she said.

Authorities were searching the area Thursday after a reported sighting from a resident who saw and recognized him.

Buffington, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1999 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, used to live in Booneville and fatally shot his wife in a field in rural Logan County. On June 21, he managed to steal a shotgun and escape from a Pine Bluff unit while he was working as a prison trusty.

Numerous tips came in as authorities scoured different parts of the state for him, but he remained on the run until Thursday. Wilson characterized the tip that ultimately led to his arrest as a "confirmed sighting."

Police said Buffington should be considered armed and dangerous. It wasn't immediately known whether he was still in possession of the shotgun stolen during his escape.

See Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.

Upcoming Events