You’d think that an escaped convict would want to travel incognito and avoid traveling in conspicuous vehicles like, say, stolen tour buses. Alas, Christopher Daniel Gay didn’t realize that traveling in Crystal Gayle’s bus would probably make him a little more noticeable:

Crystal Gayle’s tour bus was recovered late Friday night (Jan. 26) after the escaped felon accused of stealing it was spotted dropping off a prostitute in Daytona Beach, Fla. Christopher Daniel Gay, who had been on the loose since Jan. 21, was arrested without incident when he coincidentally entered an undercover prostitution sting in the area. As previously reported, Gay had escaped authorities in South Carolina while being transferred between states. While on the lam, he had stolen a truck in Atlanta and a tractor-trailer in Manchester, Tenn., as well as Gayle’s Prevost tour bus from a garage near Nashville.

Sounds like your typical end-of-the-blotter item, right? Well, missing from it is the fact that Gay’s purported reason for escape was to visit his ailing mother–a detail that makes this whole story ripe for a country-song treatment. Bluegrass singer Tim O’Brien delivers with “The Ballad Of Christopher Daniel Gay,” a rollicking little number that we don’t expect Gayle to cover anytime soon:

Tim O’Brien – The Ballad Of Christopher Daniel Gay [MP3, link expired; via
Flop Eared Mule]
Escaped Prisoner Stole Crystal Gayle’s Tour Bus, Police Say [CMT]