By Carol Powell

In May of 1897, three men escaped from the Prescott jail in the true manner of Western folklore. They left in a blaze of gunfire, leaving a young man dead in their haste. The news of the escape and the names of the men were sent by telegraph to neighboring towns and cities. The escapees were Cornelia Sarata, Louis Clair Miller and James Fleming Parker.

A telegraph message was received at the Prescott Sheriff’s Office just before noon the following day stating that a deputy, John Fletcher Fairchild of Coconino County, was leaving Winslow in order to attempt to intercept the escapees.

Deputy Fairchild, known as "Fletch," had participated in the original manhunt and capture of Parker three months earlier which landed him in the Prescott jail. In that encounter, Parker and Fairchild had a running gun battle after Parker and another man attempted to rob a train at Peach Springs, west of Seligman. Fletch accompanied the two would-be robbers to Prescott by train.

Now, Parker had escaped from the Prescott jail with two other prisoners. Deputy Fairchild’s interest in tracking them down was not especially for Parker, but for one of the other prisoners. He wanted to find Louis Miller. They were kin. Fairchild had married Miller’s older half-sister, Pearl, in Texas a few years earlier and they had all come to Arizona together in 1884. Louis Miller, 14 years old at the time, came to Prescott with his mother and later became a constable with questionable practices. He was involved in a few shooting "instances," and discharged from the position. Out of money and a job, Miller was in jail for forging a check for $50 in an attempt to run away to Mexico. Yavapai County Sheriff George C. Ruffner had him locked up and put him in the cell with the train robber, Parker. Now, both inmates were on the run, along with Sarata.

When Fletch and Pearl Fairchild arrived in Arizona in 1884, they settled at Chavez Pass about 35 miles south of Winslow in very desolate country. They planned to raise sheep and actually bought some to get started. They had two children, Frank and Annie and, in 1887, were expecting a third. Fletch wanted Pearl to stay in Winslow but she refused. She developed a bad cold and, unfortunately, they were out of firewood. Fletch left her in bed to go for wood. He had to go a long way and was late returning. When he came in sight of the house, he saw her standing in the door in the cold wind. She developed pneumonia and became very sick.

Fletcher didn’t know what to do. The nearest doctor was in Winslow and he didn’t want to leave her with the two children while he rode for help. Their house was on an abandoned stage route and luckily a couple came by and willingly stayed with Pearl and the children while Fletch rode to Winslow for the doctor. There was only one doctor in Winslow and he had gone to Gallup, New Mexico. The Santa Fe Railroad sent an engine, brought Dr. Cornish back to Winslow and they hurried to Chavez Pass. Pearl was dead when they arrived. She was 21.

Now, ten years later, Pearl’s half-brother was on the run and Fletch was determined to do everything he could to save his brother-in-law. Having received word by telegraph from Sheriff Ruffner in Prescott that Miller was headed for Tonto Basin south of Payson, Fletch and another deputy left Winslow in pursuit. Upon reaching the area, no trace of the fugitive could be found and there wasn’t any way to reach Ruffner for further information. Fletch, knowing the Miller family personally, was sure Louis would head for Jerome where his sister, Minnie, lived. Indeed, Louis had stopped there and then hid out two miles away on Mingus Mountain. On arriving in Jerome, Fletch went to Minnie’s. Together they worked out a plan to convince Louis to turn himself in for his own safety.

A team of officers was secured and Louis was taken by Fletch from Jerome to Flagstaff. After things quieted down in Prescott, Louis Miller was returned for trial. He would have been hanged if his sister, Minnie Haas, and brother-in-law, John Fletcher Fairchild, had not intervened on his behalf. An angry mob had awaited his return to Prescott. It was one juror who finally saved him from the hangman. Although his life was spared, he did serve prison time at Yuma.

James Fleming Parker was apprehended and returned to Prescott to stand trial for the murder of Deputy District Attorney Lee Norris who was shot during the jailbreak with Miller and Sarata. Parker was hanged June 3, 1898 on the east side of the Prescott Courthouse. Sarata was never seen again after the jailbreak.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(courtesy of author) Reuse only bypermission.

At left, John Fletcher Fairchild, Coconino County Deputy, was instrumental in saving his brother-in-law, Louis C. Miller, right, from the hangman. Louis was sentenced to life at the Yuma Territorial Prison for his part in a Prescott jailbreak murder.