Two "persons of interest" in a death in DeKalb County, Ala., are in custody after deputies found them in an abandoned chicken house in Cherokee County.
Sheriff Jimmy Harris said a search for Doug Minor, 32, and Norma Jo Grinnell began Saturday after a woman was found dead in Minor's house on Lookout Mountain. Law officers and the public was told to be on the lookout for Minor's white 1988 Ford Bronco with a homemade front bumper.
On Sunday, Harris said someone saw the truck around 3 p.m. Saturday on County Road 47 in the Tucker's Chapel community of Cherokee County.
Alabama state troopers brought in a helicopter and tracking dogs from St. Clair County correctional facilities set to work alongside Cherokee and DeKalb county lawmen but nothing turned up. They called off the search at about 2:30 a.m. but left several deputies in the area.
About 9 a.m. Sunday, a call came in to Cherokee County 911 saying that Minor and Grinnell had showed up at a home on County Road 47 asking for water and transportation.
The homeowner said no and ordered them to leave, but saw them go into one of two abandoned chicken houses below his residence.
Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver alerted the deputies and they were approaching the chicken houses when Grinnell walked out of one and asked for help. Minor refused to come out and tried to run out the back, but was tackled and brought down by deputies.
Grinnell was treated at DeKalb Regional Medical Center for facial injuries. Harris said she "appears to be a victim in this situation" and is not being charged.
Minor has been charged with first-degree assault and kidnapping pending autopsy results on the dead woman, whose identity has not been released.