MADINAH, 17 October 2007 — Details into the arrest of the fourth and final suspect in the Feb. 26 murder of four French citizens have been released.
According to a report published in Al-Madinah newspaper yesterday, the suspect, Abdullah Al-Muhammadi, ran out of fuel in the desert and went to a farm about 90 km from Madinah in a state of extreme physical exhaustion and dehydration.
“Suddenly it occurred to me that this man is not an ordinary traveler who lost his way on the mountainous road but someone police have been looking for,” the newspaper quoted the farmer as saying.
The farmer said he noticed that the man was armed and that he had heard of an ongoing manhunt for somebody believed to be hiding out in the surrounding rugged terrain.
The farmer said he told the man he would go find food for him from a nearby village. Instead the farmer went to the nearest police command center and reported what had happened.
By the time police and soldiers arrived at the farm, Al-Muhammadi had disappeared. After an intense manhunt, security officials found the suspect hiding under an old sofa covered by ragged carpet in an abandoned cabana near the farm. The man was arrested without incident.
An official on Sunday told Arab News that Al-Muhammadi’s arrest was not the result of any tip-off from citizens, which appears to contradict this report that says a citizen played a key role in capturing the suspect.
According to Tanaidab Al-Fayedi, an expert on topography, the region is “an ideal place to hide for anyone” due to its rugged landscape of lava fields, mountains and valleys.
Al-Muhammadi’s capture has ended a monthslong manhunt by Saudi security officials, which started after the men were identified as prime suspects in the cold-blooded murder of the French tourists returning from the archaeological site of Madain Saleh.
Naser Al-Balawi, the third suspect in the slayings, was arrested in northwestern Al-Jouf region on July 15. Security officials do not believe Al-Balawi was present at the scene of the murders, but that he aided and abetted the killers.
The second suspect, Majid Al-Harbi, was hunted down by security officers and arrested in an area 90 km north of Madinah. The mastermind behind the murders, Waleed Al-Radadi, was killed in a shootout when security officers surrounded his hideout near Madinah.
A police officer was killed and two others were injured in the shootout. Al-Radadi featured on a 2005 list of 36 most-wanted terror suspects in the Kingdom.
Al-Muhammadi is believed to be one of those who actually gunned down the French tourists.
