Reed brothers charged with murder; could be headed to Mexico

A statewide manhunt has grown into a national hunt, and could potentially turn international.

Brothers John Blaine Reed, 53, and Tony Clyde Reed, 49, are suspected of murdering an Arlington couple and are believed to be on the run from authorities. A Snohomish County Superior Court judge signed arrest warrants for the convicted felons on Tuesday, setting bail at $5 million apiece. Prosecutors also charged the Reeds with two counts of first-degree (premeditated) murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.

Related: What to know about the Reed brothers and their alleged crime

The Reeds are suspected of murdering Patrick Shunn, 45, and his wife, Monique Patenaude, 46, of Arlington. Their vehicles were ditched in a remote area near Oso. Their bodies have not been found but police say they have evidence they were victims of homicidal violence.

According to the charging documents, the murders likely occurred on the Arlington couple’s property, but the precise “mechanism of death” is unclear since the bodies have not been recovered. Prosecutors said police found “significant blood evidence” in the vehicles of the couple, as well as in Reed’s vehicle and former home in Arlington. That, along with the circumstances surrounding Shunn and Patenaude’s disappearance led to the “inescapable conclusion that they are dead.”

Shunn had reported being threatened by Reed, who has multiple felonies and 40 misdemeanors to his name from 1988-2014, in the past and “fresh” 9 mm shell casings were fond outside the property between their homes. Reed previously owned the property next to the couple, but his property was purchased and subsequently condemned following the Oso landslide. Several weeks prior to the couple’s disappearance, Patenaude had complained Reed was “squatting” at his former property. Patenaude said she was afraid of Reed and that he’d threatened to harm her and her husband, according to the documents. She added that Reed was upset by how the Oso slide aftermath was handled, that his property was condemned, and that he’d been kicked off of it.

One witness reported to police that she saw a cable and a 4×4 beam in the back of John Reed’s pickup truck near his former property on April 13. She said Reed told her they were there to remove personal items from the property.

Another witness told police after the Oso slide, John Reed indicated he was capable of killing people without any problem. He would shoot the people he blamed for the Oso aftermath and police would never be able to locate the bodies as he would dispose of them in the area of timber above the slide area.

The Reeds have switched vehicles multiple times, leaving a trail of cars for police to follow. That trail has now led to the Mexican border.

Related: History of Reed’s property dispute with neighbors in Arlington

“A red Volkswagen that John Reed and his brother Tony were in possession of, that vehicle was located in Phoenix, Arizona yesterday,” said Sheri Ireton with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. “We have new information that they are now in possession of a 2002 gold Acura with Arizona license plates.”

Ireton said that the Acura is not stolen and the Reeds got it from an acquaintance. Charging documents say the acquaintances also gave the brothers $500 in cash.

“A plate reader hit that license plate near Calexico, California yesterday,” she said. “While we are still trying to nail down their exact location, we believe they are trying to cross the border into Mexico.”

Calexico is on the Mexico-California border.

One of the brother’s vehicle was located in Ellensburg on April 16, at the home of the suspects’ parents. Their father said he had recently cleaned the truck and indicated he did not know where his sons were, “but if he did, he would not tell law enforcement,” according to the charging documents.

Based on a tip from the father, officers turned their search to a Volkswagon Jetta Eos coupe the brothers obtained in that town. As of Monday, that car was found in Phoenix, Ariz.

The Phoenix Police Department and the US Marshal’s Office are involved in the case. Police warn people not to approach the brothers who are believed to be armed and dangerous.

Prosecutors described the brothers “an extreme risk to the community.” Police haven’t accounted for several of their firearms.

Snohomish authorities continue to search more than 23-square-mile area around the victims’ Arlington residence.

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