Escapees have fled more than 300 miles

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) - Two Lake County inmates who escaped from a minimum security correctional facility in Baldwin, Mich. Saturday were sighted in Kokomo, Ind. Thursday. Allegan County authorities explained how escapees Gregory Bradshaw and Kenneth Grauman made that more than 300-mile journey.

"It's very difficult in locating someone that does not want to be found," said Allegan County Sheriff's Department Lt. Frank Baker.

Especially, it seems, when they're on the move.

Bradshaw and Grauman traveled more than 60 miles on Sunday, the first full day they were on the lam. That portion of their run from the law ended when they crashed a stolen Pontiac Transport mini-van west of Sand Lake.

They then stole another vehicle -- a Jeep Cherokee -- and went nearly 50 miles more to a square-mile area west of Dorr.

That kicked off a full-scale search Monday night. Video taken from a private ultra-light aircraft showed the Jeep tearing through a field. The escapees later ditched the Jeep.

But despite half a dozen police agencies all working together on the ground and in the air, the men weren't caught.

"We're talking large wooded lots," explained Baker. "We're talking large farm field, bean fields areas that don't allow us to actually make an easy search of."

Bradshaw and Kenneth Grauman are thought to have met up with their girlfriends, Laura Grauman and Brittany Rector, Tuesday.

They stole a white Ford Taurus from that same Dorr area Wednesday, avoiding police that time only by about 25 minutes.  

"They have ties to the area. I'm sure there's a possibility that someone in that area may have been assisting them," said Baker. "Whether or not it's someone residing in that area or whether or not it might have been the girlfriends, I don't know at this point, but it's highly likely they may have had some type of assistance."

The escapees and their girlfriends then took that Taurus on the road to Kokomo, where they were sighted at a Kroger around 4:40 a.m. Thursday.

They're also thought to have stolen a fourth vehicle -- a 2006 silver GMC pickup truck with an extended bed and a Purdue license plate on the front.

They are likely armed with at least two stolen pistols from a Dorr-area break-in and more weapons from the stolen pickup truck. They both have a history of drug problems. 

The US Marshals are offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 and may remain anonymous.

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TIMELINE: Gregory Bradshaw and Kenneth Grauman's run from the law: