A weeklong nationwide search for three siblings accused of crimes in Florida and Georgia has shifted to Colorado, where police and FBI officials say they believe the trio made a purchase at an outdoors store and could be headed to a campground or rural area to try to avoid capture.
Authorities have said they have received "credible information" that people matching the description of the three were spotted in Colorado. The two brothers and sister are believed to be armed and dangerous, said Dave Joly, spokesman for the FBI's Denver office.
Joly said Wednesday there was no new information on the search for 21-year-old Ryan Edward Dougherty, 26-year-old Dylan Dougherty Stanley and 29-year-old Lee Grace Dougherty.
The three are accused of opening fire at a Florida officer after a high-speed chase, and of robbing a Georgia bank at gunpoint.
The possible sighting near Interstate 25 north of downtown Colorado Springs was reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday (3:30 p.m. ET), Colorado Springs police said.
Sgt. Steven Noblitt said it hasn't been confirmed that the siblings are in the area, but the FBI said the people spotted Tuesday were in a small white Subaru Impreza with the stolen Texas license plate LCS 909. The suspects were last seen in a 2006 white Impreza.
"We don't have 100 percent identification, but it sure appears they were here with the information we have at this time," Noblitt said.
Authorities released few other details, but Joly said the people who were spotted made a cash purchase at an outdoors store, suggesting they may be trying to camp, and that park rangers have been notified of the search.
Joly didn't know what the three bought.
REI spokeswoman Libby Catalinich said the company, which has a store near the interstate, was contacted by law enforcement officials. She declined further comment, as did store employees.
A nationwide manhunt for the siblings began Aug. 2. The three are suspected of firing at least 20 shots at a Florida officer who tried to pull them over for speeding in a chase at speeds up to 100 mph.
Hours later, three people wearing masks robbed a bank in Valdosta, Ga., about 210 miles north. One robber brandished an AK-47 assault rifle while another was photographed by a security camera waving a machine pistol, the FBI said.
"We believe they pose an imminent threat to the community we serve," Joly said.