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Police were searching in an isolated area of Summers County Thursday night for Rufus Raymond Hampton, a 41- year-old Mercer Countain who was convicted of taking part in the $300,000 robbery of the C. A. Clyborne home in Bluefield during 1970 and who is now on parole and being sought in connection with several house burglaries in Mercer County and Tazewell County, Va. The search was being cen tered in the Black Lick area off State Rt. 20 near Pipestemn State Park. State police from the Prin ceton and Hinton detachments and two Tazewell County Sheriff's Department deputies were involved in the chase. “Colonel,’’ a bloodhound assigned to the Tazewell Sheriff's Department, was brought into the area shortly before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Police said Hampton, who was seriously shot after he escaped from Huttonsville Medium Security Prison in 1971, is wanted for the burglaries of a number of homes in the area. A Virginia fugitive warrant has been issued charging Hampton with burglary in Tazewell County. Hampton was shot twice by State troopers in September of 1971 as he attempted to run from his home located on a dirt road off State Rt. 12 near Ada. At the time of his escape, Hampton, a key witness in the Clyborne robbery, was serving a one-to-15 year sentence at Huttonsville. His sentence came after his admission to breaking into the Clyborne residence. Hampton named William (Rabbit) Martin and the late Ira Mathena as accomplices and pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary himself. Hampton did not leave Bluefield Sanitarium until Dec. 22, 1971. He underwent three operations following the gun shot wounds.
Newspaper Details
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield, West Virginia, US
Fri, Jul 26, 1974
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Lorraine C.
USA 15 Jul 2026
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