U.S. marshals caught the woman dubbed "Losing Streak Lois" in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday after a multi-state crime spree, authorities said Thursday.
Lois Riess, 56, was alone when she was captured in a restaurant on South Padre Island around 8:30 p.m. local time, the Lee County Sheriff's Office told CNN.
Reiss was wanted in connection in two murders, including the murder of her husband in Minnesota.
"I promised all along that Lois Riess would end up in a pair of handcuffs," Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement. "Tonight, she sits in a jail cell in Texas. We are working as expeditiously as possible to bring her back to Lee County to face murder charges."
Riess was last seen April 8 in the area of Corpus Christi, Texas, following what is believed to be a multistate homicide case. She was sought on murder and theft charges in the slaying of Pamela Hutchinson, of Bradenton, Florida, who was found shot to death April 9 in a condominium in which she was staying in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
Riess, who got her nickname from Minnesota law enforcement officers for her penchant for gambling, is also a person of interest in the killing of her husband, David Riess, who was found shot to death March 23 on the couple’s worm farm in Blooming Prairie.
In each shooting, the victim had been dead for several days when the body was found. Authorities also believe Lois Riess used the same weapon in both cases.
Credit: U.S. Marshals Service
Credit: U.S. Marshals Service
The U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday had updated the search for Riess to major status and announced a $5,000 reward for her capture. Another $1,000 in reward money was made available by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.
Florida investigators said Riess killed Hutchinson, 59, for her identity. The women, who were strangers before Riess befriended Hutchinson, bore a striking resemblance to one another.
Surveillance footage from the Smokin’ Oyster Brewery, located two blocks from Hutchinson’s condo at the Marina Village at Snug Harbor, shows Riess smiling and chatting with a blonde woman in a hat who Lee County Sheriff’s Office detectives have identified as Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s cousin on Monday posted an image from the surveillance footage to Facebook, side by side with an undated image of Hutchinson wearing that same hat as in the footage.
Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service said investigators believe Hutchinson was killed on or around April 5, when the surveillance footage at the bar was shot.
Lee County officials also on Tuesday released several snippets of surveillance video, including one piece that shows Riess, wearing the same blue shirt seen in the bar video, calmly walking away from Marina Village toward the parking lot. She is seen on another video driving away in Hutchinson's white 2005 Acura TL.
Hutchinson’s keys, identification, cash and credit cards were also missing when her body was found.
The News-Press in Fort Myers reported Tuesday that sometime after Hutchinson's death, Riess went to a Wells Fargo branch there and used Hutchinson's identification to withdraw $5,000 from the slain woman's account.
See the original footage of Riess chatting with Pamela Hutchinson, obtained by the News-Press, below.
Riess was next spotted in Ocala, about 215 miles north of Fort Myers, where more surveillance footage released Tuesday shows her driving up to a Hilton hotel in Hutchinson’s stolen car and checking in as a guest. Again, she is wearing the blue top seen in previous videos, as well as a light-colored fedora-style hat with a black band.
Lee County Sheriff's Office officials told the News-Press that Riess stayed in the hotel the nights of April 6 and 7.
Riess used Hutchinson’s identity to check into the hotel around 8 p.m. on April 6. She also used the victim’s identification to withdraw another $500 from Hutchinson’s bank account at an Ocala bank.
"She's confident, doesn't look over her shoulder, like she's not hiding anything," Kinsey told the Star Tribune of Riess' demeanor in the videos. "She was very nonchalant."
The fugitive was next spotted in the stolen Acura in Louisiana, where an attempt to get $200 at a gas station failed, the News-Press said.
Kinsey said Riess was also spotted on surveillance images April 7 and 8 in casinos in Louisiana.
"She went from casino to casino to make money, or because she is addicted to it," Kinsey said. "She is consumed by it."
The final definite sighting of Riess was the following day, April 8 in Refugio, Texas, about 40 miles north of Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is about 150 miles from the Mexico border.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has been searching for Riess since late last month, described her as a white woman with brown eyes and pale blonde hair. She is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds.
Riess has been on the run since mid-March, when she is suspected of gunning down her husband, David Riess, on their rural worm farm before stealing $11,000 from his personal and business accounts. Deputies with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office found him after his business partner reported that he had not been seen or heard from in several weeks.
Lois Riess was nowhere to be found, but investigators learned she visited a casino in Iowa on her way out of the Midwest, investigators said. She is charged with grand theft in connection with her husband’s slaying.
Dodge County investigators are also anticipated to file murder charges against her sometime this week.
Riess was initially linked to Hutchinson's slaying, in part, because her family's white Cadillac Escalade, which she was believed to be driving after her husband's murder, was found abandoned in a county park in Fort Myers Beach, the News-Press reported.
Court records in Minnesota also show that Riess, who was named guardian of her disabled sister in 2012, stole more than $78,000 from her before being caught three years later.
Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno described Riess to NBC News earlier this week as a "stone-cold killer" who authorities fear might kill again when she runs out of resources.
"She smiles and looks like anyone's mother or grandmother," Marceno said. "And yet she's calculated, she's targeted and an absolute cold-blooded killer."
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