Registered sex offender killed in wreck after abducting two Central Texas children

BOSQUE COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - Jessi Marie Lowery, 8, abducted by a sex offender relative Friday night, remains hospitalized Monday after surviving a wreck Saturday that killed her abductor, Randall Anthony Thurman, 34, and the driver of a second vehicle, the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday also identified Maureena Charles Reid, 85, of Burleson, Texas, as the driver of the second vehicle who died after the collision with Thurman.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were called to a residence in Walnut Springs, Texas at about 10:45 p.m. Friday after a mother reported her two children were missing and suspected of being with Thurman, a relative and a registered sex offender.

The children were identified as the 8-year-old Jessi Marie and her brother, 7-year-old Cody Lowery. At approximately 1:40 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office learned Cody had been located at a convenience store along I-35 in Hill County and was in the custody of Hill County deputies and Itasca Police officers.

Officers at the scene reported the boy ran to the convenience store seeking help after he had been bound with clear packing tape wrapped around his throat and arms. The boy told officers that a “Randall” had removed him from a car and wrapped him in tape before fleeing with his sister, Jessi.

The boy was transported by ambulance to a medical facility for treatment. Authorities issued the Amber Alert for the girl shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday. At the time the alert was issued, the suspect was driving a silver-colored, 2011 Chrysler 200 with Texas license plate number PDJ-3658.

At approximately 9:15 a.m., a Hill County resident observed a car sitting between a group of trees on his property and recognized it to be the car listed in the Amber Alert. The resident immediately contacted the Hill County Sheriff’s Office.

Hill County deputies observed the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Randall allegedly fled northbound on Highway 171 toward Cleburne.

After entering Johnson County, pursuing deputies observed the suspect vehicle cross over the center lane of the roadway and continue to travel at high speeds toward an oncoming vehicle.

“Based on the actions of the driver, deputies believe the maneuver to have been intentional,” the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office said.

Thurman’s vehicle collided with the oncoming car at the intersection of Highway 171 and Johnson County Road 302. Thurman and the driver of the vehicle struck by Thurman’s vehicle were both killed in the wreck. The name of the second crash victim will be withheld until his family is notified.

Jessi, conscious at the scene, required extraction from the vehicle. The girl was airlifted to a medical facility for emergency treatment, the sheriff’s office said.

The Amber Alert issued for Jessi Marie was discontinued at 10:30 a.m. Saturday soon after the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office announced “the suspect is dead.”

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