Texas standoff ends: 4 give up, 2 flee

• Manhunt under way for 2 who fled
• Separatists arraigned
• 'I had to get out of there'

FORT DAVIS, Texas (CNN) -- Ending a tense, weeklong standoff, four members of an armed separatist group that proclaims Texas a sovereign country put down their guns and surrendered to police Saturday.

But two armed separatists remain at large, and a manhunt for them is under way.

The surrender was preceded by a "cease-fire" agreement signed by the group's leader, Richard McLaren, and a representative of the Texas Rangers. The cabin where the separatists were holed up is now abandoned and will be inspected once the area is cleared of possible booby traps.

"It appears the standoff has ended," Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Cox said at about 5 p.m. "It's exactly what we wanted: a peaceful resolution.

"We almost have the wagon fixed," Cox said. "Our observers saw two men in camouflage walking away from the Republic of Texas property. We're right now vigorously searching for these individuals."

Aided by bloodhounds and aircraft, police on horseback are searching for Richard Frank Keyes III and Mike Matson. The two disappeared into a heavily wooded canyon and are believed to have two rifles and a 9 mm pistol.

"We're confident we'll be able to find them," Cox said.

Six separatists arraigned

Six of the separatists, including McLaren and his wife Evelyn, were arraigned Saturday night before Justice of the Peace Cinderella Gonzalez in Marfa, about 20 miles southwest of Fort Davis. Among those arraigned was Robert Scheidt, who surrendered to police Friday.

The siege broke midday Saturday after Evelyn McLaren, surrendered at 11:15 a.m. She had been holed up inside the separatists' self-styled "embassy" in the Davis Mountains for nearly a week.

"She was very excited that he decided to come in," said Lisa Rutledge, McLaren's stepdaughter. Another of Mrs. McLaren's daughters, Julie Hopkins, was crying as her sister spoke to their mother.

"These are major tears of joy," she said.

Evelyn McLaren was named in a federal indictment in February charging her with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and aiding and abetting, Cox said. She does not face charges related to the standoff. Her husband is charged with organized criminal activity.

McLaren turned himself in several hours later, after he and three others held a formal ceremony to lay down their arms.

Police say the spearatists had 10 rifles included hunting rifles and semi-automatic weapons along with several handguns and 500 to 700 rounds of ammunition. Among the other things recovered were 24 pipe bombs, eight to 10 gasoline bombs, a cannon that shoots scrap iron and a propane tank with a pipe bomb attached.

"There is no agreement other than they agreed to come out peacefully and they agreed to cease fire," Cox said. "There were no promises on the part of the Department of Public Safety."

'I had to get out of there'

Law officers moved to within a quarter-mile of the group's cabin Friday, prompting McLaren to use a short-wave radio to issue "a mayday call for any nation in the world. ... We are being invaded!" Authorities said they also overheard radio transmissions in which group members were being urged to shoot to kill.

	'We have hostiles in the woods. This is a mayday call for any nation in the world ... We are being invaded!' - Richard McLaren
	(Courtesy WFAA: 416K/34 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

The 43-year-old McLaren, a Missouri native who moved to Texas in the 1970s, believes Texas was illegally annexed by the United States in 1845.

The stalemate began last Sunday when several McLaren followers stormed a neighboring home and held a couple hostage to protest the arrest of group member Scheidt.

Scheidt was exchanged for the hostages early Monday, but the standoff continued. Scheidt, who faces felony charges of engaging in organized crime, surrendered Friday and reportedly told a state trooper: "I had to get out of there. I couldn't stand it anymore."

The others who turned themselves in include Robert Otto, also known as "White Eagle," who is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. The other two, Greg and Karen Paulson, are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated kidnapping in connection with the hostage-taking.

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