A manhunt got underway Wednesday morning after a deputy was shot and killed in Dickson County. The suspect has been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted list.
Officials confirmed the incident happened after a neighbor reported seeing a suspicious vehicle around 7 a.m.
Sergeant Daniel Baker responded to the call but after a period of time, dispatch lost contact with him -- that prompted officials to track his cruiser using GPS navigation to an area a few miles away from the initial scene.
An officer with another agency found the deputy's car about 2-3 miles away. He was found deceased inside the car.
Sheriff Says They 'Lost A Hero' When Deputy Was Killed
TBI spokesperson Susan Niland said they used video surveillance and evidence from the scene to identify 31-year-old Steven Joshua Wiggins as a suspect in the case.
A Blue Alert was first issued in the case -- that's an alert used when a law enforcement officer has been killed or seriously injured in the line-of-duty.
Wiggins was later added to the TBI's Most Wanted list. A woman, 38-year-old Erika Castro-Miles, who was named as his girlfriend in police reports, was detained for questioning in the case. She was later charged with murder. According to the TBI, she participated in the incident.
Sky 5 flew over the scene Wednesday morning and showed the search area along a densely wooded area near Bear Creek Valley Road and Tidwell Switch Road.
The suspect does have a prior criminal history, including arrests for aggravated assault and misdemeanor vandalism.
Suspect In Fatal Deputy Shooting Had Lengthy Criminal Past
On Tuesday, Wiggins was charged with aggravated assault and vehicle theft in Kingston Springs. According to a police report, officers were called to a residence on Luyben Hills Road after a woman, who was identified in the report as Castro-Miles, was assaulted.
Wiggins allegedly slapped the her and pulled out her hair before saying he would kill her if she called police. He then fled in her car, the report said.
In the report, Castro-Miles told police Wiggins had been "doing meth all night" and smoking marijuana.
Residents in the area should remain vigilant. Wiggings is considered armed and dangerous. He's said to be 6'1" tall and weighs 220 pounds. A reward of $12,500 was offered for his arrest from the TBI and US Marshals Service. That reward was increased to $15,000 with an additional $2,500 announced by Governor Bill Haslam on Thursday.
Anyone who sees him should call 911 immediately.
