Manhunt on for Alleged Tennessee Kidnapper

Adam Mayes is being sought for the abduction of Jo Ann Bain and her three daughters after two bodies were found at his home.

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AP / Hardeman County (Miss) Sheriff's Department

Adam Mayes

Law enforcement officials have intensified their search for a man they believe abducted a Tennessee mother and her daughters after they found the woman and her oldest daughter dead behind a house in Alpine, Miss.

Police say Adam Mayes, 35, a family friend, abducted Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her three daughters. Mayes was reportedly at the family’s home in Whiteville, Tenn., helping them to pack for a move to Arizona; the four were reported missing April 27 by her husband Gary. The bodies of Bain and her 14-year-old daughter Adrienne were discovered last week at Mayes’ home, but the FBI has not said how they died.

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The other two Bain daughters, Alexandria, 12, and Kyliyah, 8, are believed to still be with Mayes — who is at large and thought by the FBI to be armed and dangerous. “We’re still working on the belief that the youngest two daughters are alive,” FBI spokesman Joel Siskovic told the Associated Press. “We’re still hopeful.”

In the latest developments, Mayes’ wife and mother have both been arrested and charged with kidnapping in relation to the disappearance of the Bain family, according to a Hardeman County, Miss., court clerk.

Mayes was last seen in Guntown, Miss., a small town about 80 miles south of the Bain’s home. Authorities questioned him early in their investigation, but he fled when they tried to question him a second time. Mayes is longtime friend of Gary Bain’s, but he also dated Jo Ann before she and Gary married, according to Jackson, Miss. station WMC-TV. Mayes and Bain were reportedly also once married to sisters, although it is unclear if Jo Ann Bain is one of them.

Mayes stayed over the family’s house to help them pack for their cross country move, but when Bain awoke, he did not see his family. Unable to reach his wife on her cellphone and not seeing his children get off a schoolbus, he reported them missing. An Amber Alert was issued once the disappearances were reported. Jo Ann Bain’s car was later found abandoned.

The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to Mayes’ capture, or to the location of the two missing girls.