Couple found shot and naked walking down county road

TULLAHASSEE, Okla. (AP) -- A couple was found shot and naked walking down a Wagoner County road Thursday after a reported hitchhiker stole their car, authorities said.<br><br>An apparent stranger picked

Thursday, May 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULLAHASSEE, Okla. (AP) -- A couple was found shot and naked walking down a Wagoner County road Thursday after a reported hitchhiker stole their car, authorities said.

An apparent stranger picked up William Sheppard and Gwendolynn Flute in Muskogee, pulled out a gun and ordered the couple to drive to Wagoner County in eastern Oklahoma.

The man then ordered Sheppard and Flute to strip and tried to run them over with the car before the couple fled in the fog near
Tullahassee, Wagoner County Sheriff Rudy Briggs said.

Sheppard, 36, was shot in the shoulder and the leg. He was treated and released from a hospital Thursday afternoon. Flute, 32, was listed in critical condition after being shot in the back, Briggs said.

A motorist found the couple walking down 51 Highway B about 5 a.m. The car was later found near a housing unit in Muskogee.

No one was immediately arrested.