PANAMA CITY BEACH — An Alabama couple on the run from armed robbery and murder charges has been arrested on the Beach, the Panama City Beach Police Department reported.
Police found Curtis Austin and Elizabeth Austin, of Attalla, Ala., in Pier Park on Tuesday and arrested them on charges of being fugitives from justice. The couple was apprehended after Alabama authorities issued warrants for the pair and tipped off local officers they were headed to Panama City Beach, PCBPD said.
Further investigation revealed they were wanted by more than one Alabama law enforcement agency in connection with a series of violent crimes, officers reported.
Elizabeth Austin, 31, had an active warrant for murder from the Marshall County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, and the Etowah County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office also wanted her held for an armed robbery. Curtis Austin, 31, also was wanted for armed robbery in Etowah County.
Investigators from both agencies, along with police in Attalla, worked Wednesday morning at a remote location to remove human remains discovered in a shallow grave between a chert pit and a local cemetery. The remains were later identified as 60-year-old Judith McElroy Carranza, a relative of Elizabeth Austin. Carranza was reported missing April 1, according to Alabama authorities.
Investigators said they believe the two went on the lam after Carranza’s death and stopped to accrue some cash for the travel at a bar in Attalla.
A man entered a gentleman’s club called Babe’s Lounge in Attalla on Saturday morning wearing a mask and demanded cash and keys to a truck at gunpoint. The owner of the club could not see the man’s face, but he told police he recognized the gunman’s voice as that of a former bouncer, Curtis Austin, officers reported. The owner also told police that Curtis and Elizabeth Austin rented an apartment from him.
Surveillance video then caught the truck leaving the club with Curtis and Elizabeth Austin’s car, a white Ford Mustang, following behind, police said.
PCBPD found the couple Tuesday in Pier Park after being tipped off by Alabama authorities. Officers monitored a car matching the description of the white Mustang for about 45 minutes before Curtis and Elizabeth Austin appeared, police reported. Both were arrested and taken to the Bay County Jail to await extradition.
Carranza’s remains were exhumed from the shallow gravesite early Wednesday morning to determine a cause of death.