Manhunt underway for special forces veteran with extensive survival training accused of shooting his wife

By Holly Yan, Dianne Gallagher, Sneha Dhandapani, CNN

(CNN) — Investigators from several agencies are scouring the woods of northwestern Tennessee for an armed special forces veteran suspected of trying to kill his wife, the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

Craig Berry, 53, has been on the run since early Friday after he shot his wife in Dover, Tennessee, near the Kentucky border, said Stewart County Sheriff Frankie Gray.

“The suspect fled into the woods near the residence before deputies arrived,” the sheriff’s office has said.

A trail camera captured an image believed to be of Berry wearing camouflage clothing, Gray told CNN on Tuesday, and Berry hasn’t been seen since.

Investigators scaled back the massive search Sunday into Monday due to weather, Gray added. But one particular area, near the crime scene, still needs to be combed over.

“We’re still focusing on pretty much the same area, but we’re going to expand it a little bit,” Gray told CNN. “We’re going to search really, really detailed. Slow and methodical.”

A warrant has been issued accusing Berry of second-degree attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said. His wife has since been released from the hospital, the sheriff said Tuesday.

Several law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search, Gray said, including the US Marshals Service, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The arduous manhunt is especially challenging given the suspect’s skills outdoors. “Berry is a retired special forces veteran and has extensive training in survival tactics,” the sheriff’s office posted Monday on Facebook.

“He is an excellent swimmer and diver, and is in good physical shape,” the post said. “He is armed with at least one handgun and is believed to have taken extra ammunition.”

“Craig M. Berry was an Infantryman (11B) and Special Forces Medical Sergeant (18D) in the regular Army from 1992 to 2016,” US Army spokesperson Christopher Surridge said. He deployed to Iraq four times and left the Army as a sergeant first class, Surridge said.

Search crews are also hindered by the rough terrain. About 30 miles from Dover is the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, considered “one of the largest contiguous blocks of undeveloped forest in the eastern United States.”

“We are not ruling out the possibility that he has received some outside assistance after the incident,” the sheriff’s office said. “We have no information that he is no longer in the area.”

Stewart County Middle School was on a “soft lockdown” early Monday, meaning all students and staff stayed indoors while instruction continued and “no outdoor activities were permitted while the situation was being assessed,” Stewart County Schools posted on Facebook.

There was “no direct threat to any school whatsoever,” the district’s director of schools, Mike Craig, told CNN on Tuesday. He said law enforcement activity took place at least five blocks away from the middle school.

“We did not let any parents know in advance because we did not want to impact their operation and there was not a direct threat on the school,” Craig said.

The manhunt evoked memories of another search for a suspect that haunted Stewart County for days.

In 2018, murder suspect Kirby Wallace evaded authorities for a week, CNN affiliate WTVC reported. He was eventually captured and later pleaded gulity to murder, attempted murder, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and arson.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Sharif Paget contributed to this report.