(CNN) -- A tip from an observant forest ranger led to the arrest of an Arizona prison escapee and an alleged accomplice who had been on the run since last month, authorities said late Thursday.
John McCluskey and Casslyn Mae Welch were arrested at a campground on the edge of Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests in Springerville, Arizona, according to U.S. Marshal David Gonzales.
A park ranger noticed an unattended fire at a campsite and spotted a suspicious car backed into some trees, authorities said.
A license plate check determined it matched the description of one recently stolen in New Mexico, near where a couple was murdered.
McCluskey and Welch are suspected in the killings of the couple whose bodies were found in their burned out camper this month, according to authorities.
A SWAT team from the Apache County Sheriff's Department was called to the campground site, where they arrested McCluskey and Welch, Gonzales said.
"Once they felt they had the opportunity, they rushed in very quickly ... so they couldn't get to their weapons," according to Gonzales.
Authorities said Welch attempted to pull out a gun, but SWAT members were able to stop her before the weapon was fired.
"We're fortunate to have these individuals in custody without further loss of life," said Lt. Col. Steve Campbell with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
McCluskey told officers he would have killed them had he been able to get to his gun.
"We were convinced that this would go down in a bloody shootout," Gonzales said of how law enforcement officials had anticipated the apprehension of the couple would take place.
McCluskey, 45, was serving a 15-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder and other charges when he and fellow convicts Tracy Province and Daniel Renwick broke out of the prison July 30, allegedly with Welch's help.
Province and Renwick are already in custody. CNN
