Craig Berry accused of shooting wife, fleeing into Tennessee woods
craig berry, a 53-year-old special forces veteran, was accused of shooting his wife in Dover, Tennessee, early Friday morning and then fleeing into the woods near their residence. A blurry trail camera photo was the last known sighting of him.
His wife called 911 and said she had been shot during a domestic dispute. In the affidavit, she said the argument turned physical, that she was hit in the head several times, and that Berry tried to strangle her before shooting her in the neck.
Dover shooting affidavit
The wife escaped to her vehicle, and Berry allegedly got into his truck to chase her before crashing. Deputies later said he fled into the woods before they arrived, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. She has since been released from the hospital.
Berry’s service record gives deputies one reason to treat the search as difficult. Christopher Surridge said Craig M. Berry served in the regular Army from 1992 to 2016 as an Infantryman and Special Forces Medical Sergeant, and the sheriff’s office described him as a retired special forces veteran with survival training.
Stewart County sheriff search
Frankie Gray said Berry is trained to hunker down in the woods and stay put for a while. In a Monday post from the sheriff’s office, Gray added, “He is an excellent swimmer and diver, and is in good physical shape,” while deputies also said Berry is armed with at least one handgun and believed to have taken extra ammunition.
Why deputies are searching woods
The search has centered on the wooded area near the home just south of the Kentucky border, where deputies said Berry disappeared before they arrived. Gray also said, “It’s not (that) everybody’s got a weapon. Usually, everybody’s got several,” describing the community as one where many residents are armed.
Bidwell, a diner manager in Dover, said, “I would say (the mood) is pretty casual,” and added, “I think most people are armed.” For residents near the search area, the immediate concern is that deputies are looking for a man they say may be armed, mobile, and familiar with how to stay hidden in the woods.
