Sheriff says murder suspect was arrested following tip

More details are being revealed regarding May 20's arrest of Freda Thomas.

"She's off the streets," Butts told the Bulletin Friday afternoon.

Butts said Thomas was arrested in Okmulgee, OK, Monday following a tip that she was staying at a house in that area. The sheriff's office relayed the information to Texas Marshals.

"U.S. Marshals surveyed the house and followed her to a grocery store. They made contact with her there and arrested her," said Butts.

Bandera County officers arrived in Oklahoma Tuesday, May 21, returning to Bandera with Thomas and booking her in jail Wednesday evening.

"She waived extradition, and they took her back to jail," said Butts. "As of now, she is the only suspect in the murder. She is cooperating with the investigation and talking."

The Bandera County Sheriff's department had been searching for Freda Thomas since November 2023, charging her in a warrant with the murder of 88-year-old Robert Isaacks.

Isaacks and Thomas were last seen on Ring camera footage showing the two entering the front door of a home in the Flying L Ranch on Nov. 15, 2023. Footage from a different part of the house showed Thomas leaving alone.

Two days later, Isaack's body was discovered in Crockett County wrapped in a tarp wrapped with duct tape. According to the Bandera County warrant, $20,000 cash was reported missing from the house's safe.

Thomas' jeep was discovered in Vegas in December.

On April 1, the sheriff’s office announced via a Facebook post that Thomas was in custody in Mexico only to retract the announcement hours later, citing erroneous information.

"We believe she was in Mexico at some point, but we're unsure how she got back into the country," Butts said. "We're still working on it all."