Kidnapping suspect allegedly robbed deputies’ parents
By Don Jacobs knoxnews.com
A
man already wanted in connection with the kidnapping of an Atlanta man
surfaced Monday in East Tennessee when he allegedly robbed and bound the
parents of two Loudon County sheriff’s deputies.“Right now, we’re trying to locate this rascal,” Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said. “But I think my deputies are more upset than their parents. … He took a couple of guns, including a .30-30 rifle and ammunition.”
Guider said Christopher Alan Ellis, 31, entered a home through an open basement window.
When Ellis came up into the living area, he was greeted by the female resident, who suffers medical problems and was “sitting in a rocking chair,” the sheriff said.
“When he stuck his head around the corner, she said, ‘Chris, I’ve been praying for you,’ ” Guider said.
The woman offered to make Ellis something to eat and drew out directions to help Ellis get back to Interstate 75. “He ended up being there about three hours,” Guider said. “He made mention that he wanted to see his kids and they were in South Carolina.”
As Ellis and the woman spoke, her husband came home. Ellis bound the man and then used telephone cord to bind the woman, Guider said. When she complained the cord was too tight, Ellis took wash cloths and placed them between the cord and her skin to lessen the discomfort.
Ellis took a .22-caliber pistol, some cash and some food when he left about 12:45 p.m. in a silver 1978 Chevrolet Scottsdale short-bed pickup truck. The truck has tinted windows and a NASCAR racing No. 3 decal on the rear window, chrome bed rails and large tires.
The FBI also is involved in the case because Ellis allegedly kidnapped a man from Atlanta on Friday after entering the victim’s home. The victim, 25-year-old Chapman Parker, told police that Ellis claimed he had a gun, but then grabbed a knife from Parker’s kitchen and stole his car.
Ellis allegedly forced Parker to ride with him until they got to Loudon County, where Ellis let Parker go unharmed on a rural road. Parker drove himself to the Loudon County Justice Center to report the abduction.
Guider said the Monday robbery occurred about a mile from where Ellis had left Parker and the two men didn’t know each other before the alleged abduction. Ellis is from the Morgan County area and has family there, Guider said.
Ellis is described as white, 5 feet 11 inches tall, about 175 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and maybe a goatee. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 865-986-4823.