Group Halts Negotiations in 4-Day Texas Standoff

FORT DAVIS, Texas — Despite hopeful predictions of an impending surrender, the armed standoff with members of the so-called Republic of Texas dragged through a fourth day on Wednesday, with state police reporting that all talks with the anti-government separatists had broken off.

Law enforcement officials expressed dismay over the impasse, noting that a proposed settlement with the group’s self-styled “ambassador,” Richard L. McLaren, had been drafted the day before. But neither McLaren nor the five other fugitives holed up here in the Davis Mountains have signed the documents or responded to faxed requests for continued negotiations, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Cox.

“For those of you who are not from Texas, we have a little expression here: ‘Sometimes a wheel falls off,’ ” Cox told reporters. “Unfortunately, we’ve lost a wheel.”

Meanwhile, 70 miles away in Pecos, authorities on Wednesday detained seven armed men with Republic of Texas credentials who apparently were headed to join their comrades in Fort Davis.

Officers, searching their vehicle at a truck stop, found five semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun, a .45-caliber pistol and several hunting knives--none of which is illegal in Texas. However, police had a theft warrant for one of the men, and a small amount of marijuana also was discovered. It was not immediately clear what charges, if any, would be filed.

Throughout the morning on Wednesday, there was growing speculation about an end to the ordeal, with some TV stations even delivering live reports about McLaren’s purported decision to surrender. Cox acknowledged that “we thought we had an understanding yesterday and something of a verbal agreement.” But he said that soon evaporated when McLaren, without explanation, ended all discussion.

McLaren, a 43-year-old vintner, believes that the Lone Star State was illegally annexed by the United States in 1845 and that his supposed republic is actually defending Texas’ independence against “foreign” aggressors.

Bloodhounds and horses were brought in to assist the estimated 75 to 100 law enforcement officers ringing McLaren’s trailer. Nearly the same number of residents has been evacuated from the remote subdivision.