Davis Mountain Resort hostage crisis
Davis Mountain Resort hostage crisis
From April 27 to May 4, 1997, a group calling itself the Republic of Texas – McLaren Faction abducted Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe from the Davis Mountain Resort in Jeff Davis County, Texas. The group demanded the release of Jo Ann Turner, a member jailed over related activities, and declared that their nation was at war with the U.S. government. The militants, somewhere between 5 and 30 people, fortified the resort and were heavily armed.
Federal and state authorities, including the ATF, FBI, FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and Texas Rangers, conducted negotiations for several days with little progress. On May 3, a firefight broke out; a group member named Mike Matson was killed, and shots were fired at a Black Hawk helicopter and search dogs.
On May 4, the remaining militants surrendered. The hostages, Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe, were released unharmed, and Richard McLaren and the other faction members were taken into custody and charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:22 (CET).