Media and officers alike labeled Patrick Hale a hero after he succeeded in capturing two inmates on the run.
For Hale, though, it wasn’t an act of bravery as much as it was one of faith.
“Hearing that you’re a hero for just simply calling 911 and explaining what happened and just backing up even though we did have guns with us, we never had to use them and that to me is more than a God thing,” Hale says.
Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose were on the run after killing a Georgia prison guard during their escape.
When Tennessee’s Hale was alerted the two escaped inmates were near his home, he loaded his guns and began to pray.
“I prayed like I never prayed before,” Hale says.
A Fox affiliate describes what happened next:
Forced with choosing between a panic room in his house or trying to get away, Hale and his family decided to make a run for it. They got in his car. As they backed up, he saw that the men had gotten closer.
“They began to take off their shirts and start waving at us as if to slow us down,” he said.
As the men came closer, Hale continued to slowly back up.
“At that point, I realized that I had two ex-cons wanted for murder that had just shot at law enforcement and nothing to lose,” Hale said. “And for some reason they started to surrender and laid down on their stomach on my concrete driveway.”
Hale called the cops, who arrived within three minutes and had Dubose and Rowe in cuffs.
“If that doesn’t make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don’t know what will,” Hale says. {eoa}
