Suspect in Clovis double-homicide is at large and riding bicycle, police say

A man suspected of killing his estranged wife and her mother in Clovis is on the run and possibly riding a stolen mountain bike through San Luis Obispo County, authorities said.

Clovis police found two women stabbed to death inside a house in the 700 block of West Omaha Avenue at about 4 a.m. Saturday after receiving a call from a woman inside the house.

The Fresno County sheriff-coroner’s office on Sunday identified the women as Tierney Cooper-McCann, 36, of Fresno and Judith Cooper, 68, of Paso Robles.

Police have named Dave Thomas McCann, 47, as the primary suspect. Ty Wood, a spokesman for the Clovis Police Department, said McCann and Cooper-McCann were married but estranged.

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McCann came to the Clovis Police Department on Friday, requesting a civil standby as he went to the residence to retrieve some personal property because he had moved out of the home, Clovis Police Capt. Tom Roberts said at a news conference Sunday.

McCann “was cooperative, seeking our help in recovering some property,” Roberts said.

Officers accompanied him to the house, where he picked up some personal effects, “had a short interaction” with someone there and then left, Roberts said.

A woman called police early Saturday to report the stabbings. Roberts would not confirm the woman’s relationship to the victims or suspect but said police were concerned for her safety.

Wood said both of the women lived at the house where their bodies were found.

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McCann is believed to have fled Clovis in a 16-foot white Penske moving truck. Authorities in Paso Robles, more than 100 miles from the crime scene, found the truck in a commercial area on Saturday night, Roberts said. Police said a Facebook tip led them to the vehicle.

McCann is believed to have abandoned the truck and stolen a gray and tan 15-speed mountain bicycle with disc brakes and a small tool kit under the seat, police said.

Authorities searched two Paso Robles residences near where the truck was found for evidence and for the suspect, but he was not found, Roberts said, adding that Clovis police were working with authorities in San Luis Obispo County on the investigation.

“He is on the run, he is very dangerous and we really need everyone’s help,” Roberts said, adding that the suspect may be armed.

Roberts said McCann had ties to England and Ireland and that there was some concern that he would leave the country. Police, he said, have “taken precautions to address that.”

McCann is described as 6 feet 2 inches, weighing about 220 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information has been asked to call the Clovis Police Department at (559) 324-2800.

There have been no confirmed sightings of McCann since the bodies were found, police said.

The homicides are the first and second of the year in Clovis, Wood said.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson / Google+

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