Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 17, 1993 TAG: 9309170063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Michael Hampton Sonner, 25, escaped from a work-release program in North Carolina on Tuesday. Montgomery County authorities began searching for him after a woman said he was the man who raped her, forced her to give him $1,000 and stole her pickup truck Wednesday.
The woman's truck was found abandoned in Mercer County, W. Va.
Authorities first believed that Sonner had boarded a Greyhound bus in West Virginia that was destined for Washington state. But when the bus stopped in Chicago on Thursday afternoon, he was not on board. Instead, police found a man who matched Sonner's description, including camouflage clothing and a tattoo.
That discovery shifted the search back to Virginia and West Virginia. Montgomery County and North Carolina officials were en route Thursday to Bluefield, and Virginia State Police were headed to nearby Tazewell County, Va., where Sonner's brother lives, said Chief Deputy Dan Haga of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Mercer County Sheriff Don Meadows told Montgomery County authorities that Sonner was seen at a fast-food restaurant Wednesday and was still wearing the "Rambo"-style clothing he was seen wearing in Montgomery County.
Haga said West Virginia authorities recovered an ammunition belt Sonner apparently discarded, but he still was believed to be carrying a shotgun, a revolver and a knife.
The Montgomery County woman managed to strike up a rapport with her attacker, perhaps a reason why she was not harmed any more than she was, Haga said.
The woman identified Sonner, who attended Shawsville High School, as her attacker after seeing a photograph faxed by North Carolina authorities, Haga said. The man did not know the woman but was familiar with her house and the general area, Haga said.
Sonner escaped from the Davie County Landfill Recycling Center, where he was working with about 20 other low-risk inmates who were being supervised by an unarmed civilian. Davie County is about an hour southwest of Greensboro, N.C.
He had been incarcerated since July 1991 on two convictions of breaking and entering in Alamance County, N.C.
He was last seen wearing camouflage pants, a white T-shirt and a camouflage headband. Haga said he also is believed to be carrying a tent and binoculars.
A vehicle stolen from North Carolina was recovered a short distance from the woman's home.
John Nagy of the The Greensboro News & Record supplied some information for this story.
by CNB