Attempted-murder suspect Deborah A. Reimer continued to elude law enforcement authorities on Thursday as police tracked down leads that have failed to locate the fugitive.
"We thought we had a possible siting and we're investigating now," Ketchum police spokeswoman Kim Rogers said Thursday afternoon. "They just got a tip and they're going down to check it out."
Rogers declined to say where the possible siting occurred, adding only that it was "south of here." She did not seem confident that the tip would lead to Reimer's apprehension.
Reimer, who has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, removed her ankle-monitoring bracelet on Tuesday morning in Twin Falls and has remained at large since. She is accused of firing two shots at Ketchum resident Bob Dreyer, her former boyfriend, at Dreyer's home in southern Ketchum the morning of July 18.
Reimer, 54, was released from custody on Oct. 3 after posting $50,000 bond. Her release followed a court hearing the previous day when 5th District Court Judge Barry Wood reduced her bond from its original amount of $500,000.
Wood issued a warrant for her arrest on Tuesday with bond set at $1 million.
Reimer was living with a friend in Gooding and was required to check in daily with the Gooding County Sheriff's Office. Until Tuesday she was wearing an ankle-monitoring bracelet that was provided by Fast Bail Bonds Inc. of Wendell.
Ketchum police issued an all-points bulletin late Tuesday afternoon describing Reimer as "well dressed and carrying a black knapsack. She should be considered armed and dangerous, and has previous knowledge of firearms," the bulletin says.
Dreyer, who is normally talkative about the case, was reticent to discuss the situation with the Idaho Mountain Express on Thursday, explaining that he didn't want to say anything that would put him or his family in jeopardy.
"I'm just trying to be cautious—I hope you understand," he said. "I have no idea where she's gone, but I wish I did."
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Anyone with information on Reimer's whereabouts is asked to contact local authorities or Ketchum police at (208) 726-7833.
"If any of her friends or her family have heard anything from her, we're encouraging them to tell her to call her attorney or turn herself in to any local authorities," said Ketchum Police Chief Cory Lyman.
Jack E. Green, who owns Fast Fail Bonds along with his wife, Velma, said Thursday that Reimer had complied with all requirements up until her escape on Tuesday.
"She had been a perfect model," Green said. "We had had no problem whatsoever. Suddenly the monitoring center calls us about 10 o' clock and said that they have received a signal that the strap was being disconnected or that it had been disconnected."
The ankle-monitoring bracelet uses satellite-tracking technology that records the wearer's whereabouts at five-minute intervals.
Green said the strap that holds the monitor to a person's leg has steel bands through it that make it difficult to cut, but acknowledged that the job can be accomplished fairly quickly with a tool such as a bolt cutter.
Until Tuesday, he said, Reimer had remained active in the Gooding area, checking in daily with the sheriff's office and exercising frequently.
Monitoring information shows that she caught a bus early Tuesday morning from Gooding to the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. She then walked to the Target store mini-mall on Blue Lakes Boulevard. She made stops at Jack in the Box, Petsmart and Winco before walking south toward Deseret Industries. The monitoring bracelet was tampered with near a garbage Dumpster across the road from Deseret Industries.
Green said he drove to Twin Falls immediately after the device signaled tampering, but was unable to locate Reimer. He suspects the monitoring device was thrown in the Dumpster, but it had been dumped before he had a chance to search.
Reimer also apparently tampered with the battery for the device, causing the signal to go dead before he was able to find it.
Looking back at the situation, Green said it appears that Reimer had planned her escape, but gave no indication prior to Tuesday that she intended to run.
"We'll get her back in here in a little while," Green said. "I don't know why she would do that. I feel sorry for her."
Shooting suspect Deborah A. Reimer strolls to the defendant?s bench during a bond reduction hearing in Hailey on Oct. 2. Seated behind Reimer is 5th District Court Judge Barry Wood, who reduced bond for the suspect from $500,000 to $50,000. Reimer, who was released on bail the following day, removed or disabled her ankle monitoring bracelet on Tuesday in Twin Falls and is now a fugitive from the law. Ketchum police believe that Reimer has now dyed her hair brown. Photo by Willy Cook
