Kendall's wife and an alleged accomplice charged in connection with his escape

The wife of Jeremiah Kendall and a friend both face felony charges for their roles in the felon’s short-lived escape from custody.

Jennifer Kendall, 35, and Fredrick Hersel, 77, appeared in Lincoln County Justice Court earlier this week on obstructing justice charges. Authorities allege that Jeremiah Kendall was meeting with his wife near a U.S. Forest Service road south of Libby with the help of Hersel when Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies caught him April 16.

Jeremiah Kendall, sentenced to two decades with the Montana State Prison and another decade under supervision on March 29, was on house arrest April 7 when he allegedly hopped on a four-wheeler and fled. He previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and tampering with physical evidence for the brutal beating of his then girlfriend in 2014.

District Judge Matthew Cuffe had placed him on house arrest upon learning that health officials had put him in quarantine after he came into close contact with an individual infected with the coronavirus. Jeremiah Kendall was to turn himself into authorities and begin his two-decade bid behind bars on April 9.

In the hours after his disappearance, authorities searched the Libby Creek and Crazyman Creek areas without success.

According to court documents, investigators’ luck changed about 4:42 p.m., April 16 when they came across Jennifer Kendall and Hersel parked along the side of Forest Road 6092.

When Undersheriff Brad Dodson and Deputy Andrew Smith approached the pair, Jennifer Kendall claimed she was horn hunting with a third individual. Dodson asked if she knew of her husband’s whereabouts. She claimed to not know where he was, according to court documents.

Shortly thereafter, Smith heard a noise to the east. He walked to the edge of the hill and looked out over the landscape.

“I saw a white male adult looking up at me that I recognized as Jeremiah Kendall,” Smith wrote. “Jeremiah took off running immediately after seeing me.”

Dodson chased him on foot and caught him soon after, Smith wrote.

As Deputy Kirk Kraft loaded Jeremiah Kendall into a law enforcement vehicle, Dodson approached Hersel, who promptly admitted to aiding the felon in his escape, court documents said.

“[Hersel] said he brought Jeremiah up the mountain,” Dodson wrote in an affidavit. “Fredrick mentioned he was trying to convince Jeremiah to turn himself in but he did not feel that good about him getting caught.”

Dodson asked Hersel if he had let Jeremiah Kendall stay at his house. Hersel allegedly declined to answer “because [he] did not want to be an ‘accessory.’” He did tell authorities that he arranged the meeting between Jeremiah and Jennifer Kendall, according to the affidavit.

Deputy James Derryberry conducted a follow up interview at Hersel’s home later in the evening. According to Derryberry, Hersel admitted to letting Jeremiah Kendall stay in a camper on his property before deciding to hire an attorney and stop talking.

Jeremiah Kendall now faces an additional felony charge of escape, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years with the Montana State Prison.