Police: Clemmons' Family, Friends Helped Him Elude Capture

Family and friends of Maurice Clemmons helped the fugitive hide from law enforcement during the 40-hour manhunt that ended when a Seattle police officer fatally shot him early Tuesday morning, police said.

Before Clemmons was killed, sources told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Kevin McCarty that investigators suspected Clemmons' friends and family were trying to throw investigators off his trail as the 37-year-old tried to avoid capture.

As soon as Clemmons was named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of the Lakewood officers, police agencies were inundated with calls and tips. Detectives said they believe some false leads came from people trying to buy Clemmons time by keep search teams busy.

Police sources said evidence found at the scene of the home in Seattle where police thought Clemmons was holed up indicates he was still bleeding badly when he arrived there.

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Officers were told he was still hiding in the house, but when police arrived, Clemmons was long gone.

Near the area where Clemmons' truck was found in Parkland, searchers looked for any clues left behind, including a blood trail.

Four people have been arrested for allegedly helping Clemmons elude authorities during the massive manhunt.

Online jail records show the four were booked Monday and early Tuesday for investigation of rendering criminal assistance to four counts of first-degree murder.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer told reporters that friends and family members helped Maurice Clemmons after his Sunday morning attack.

Family and friends supplied Clemmons with cell phones, provided him with money and tried to get him out of the state, Troyer said.

"It's just a continuing effort to throw wrenches into our investigation," he said.

Troyer said more may be arrested Tuesday, and he expects six or seven people will be in custody by the end of the day.