From the National Park Service Morning Report.

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Follow-up On Manhunt For Carjackers

On Monday, May 12th, park law enforcement rangers conducted a criminal manhunt following a carjacking at gunpoint of a visitor vehicle from Twin Overlooks on Desert View Drive (Highway 64). The manhunt was associated with the investigation of a motor vehicle accident in the same location that had occurred three-and-a-half hours earlier. Rangers investigating the accident immediately determined that there’d been an attempt to drive it over the rim of the canyon. Initial efforts to find the occupants – identified as brothers Travis and Willard Twiggs, ages 36 and 38 respectively – were unavailing. The vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded. Investigation revealed that Travis Twiggs, based at Quantico, Virginia, was known to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with recent tours of duty in Iraq. The search for the two men was impeded by a significant delay in receipt of the initial report by park dispatch. Immediate efforts included checkpoints outside the park and near Flagstaff, conducted with the assistance of officers from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Weather conditions deteriorated overnight, with four inches of heavy snowfall blanketing the South Rim. The search continued on Tuesday, but without results. It was accordingly suspended that afternoon. On Wednesday, the white Dodge Caliber that the Twiggs’ had stolen was spotted at a Border Patrol checkpoint at Welton, Arizona, located 29 miles east of Yuma. A pursuit ensued which continued eastbound on Interstate 8 past Gila Bend. The 130-mile pursuit involved officers from the Border Patrol, Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety and Pinal County Sheriff's Office. Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation officers spiked the Caliber’s tires, but the car continued for another mile before going off the roadway. Pinal County deputies and Border Patrol officers converging on the car heard two shots and accordingly withdrew. Maricopa County and U.S. Customs helicopters hovered over the area for about 20 minutes, watching the vehicle. Bomb squad robots were called in and were used to determine that both Twiggs’ were dead. According to a Pinal County spokesman, one man evidently shot the other, then killed himself. [Submitted by Ken Phillips, Incident Commander]