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Marcum captured by State Police, multi-county manhunt comes to an end

By ANDREW DONOVAN

Story Created: Sep 17, 2011 at 5:49 PM EDT

Story Updated: Dec 22, 2012 at 2:32 PM EDT

DRYDEN, N.Y. (WKTV) - New York State Police say that a three-day, multi-county chase has ended and they have arrested 20-year-old Russell Marcum after he surrendered peacefully in Tompkins County.

State Police Captain Francis Coots said Marcum surrendered without incident. Authorities used their technological methods to ultimately get in touch with him and convince him to surrender peacefully .

Marcum led authorities through a multi-county chase that started Thursday evening. Saturday morning, he was thought to be in Tompkins County, which is where he ultimately surrendered.

Marcum was in the Mohawk Valley for most of the manhunt, late Thursday through early Saturday. He was specifically in the West Winfield and Richfield areas.

Since the manhunt began on Thursday, residents in those areas have been on high alert. Authorities were check every passing car and warned residents to lock their doors at night and remain vigilant.

Late Friday, a car was reported stolen from Main Street in West Winfield, which is how Marcum traveled west. Authorities say that car had OnStar GPS and they were able to track Marcum as he left the Mohawk Valley.

Marcum is a soldier at Fort Drum in Northern New York. He was arrested last week for breaking into private storage facilities in Watertown. After his original arrest, authorities were attempting to transfer Marcum to military custody when he assaulted another soldier and got away late Thursday.

He reportedly stole a car and traveled south to Richfield where police were able to force him out of the vehicle. A foot chase pursued and that is where authorities lost site of Marcum.

Marcum remained unseen in the Herkimer County/Otsego County border area for the entire day on Friday, until the report of the stolen car.

Captain Francis Coots said the credit for Marcum's capture goes beyond the hard work of the State Police. He says authorities were assisted by numerous individuals, other police and fire agencies in local municipalities and local media outlets.

Captain Coots told NEWSChannel 2, ""This was not a job done solely by the State Police. It was a huge effort by so many individuals and agencies and that's why we were able to do it successfully."

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