Search on for suspect in deputy’s killing

Authorities have asked the public for help finding the man

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Authorities appealed for the public’s help Thursday in finding a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy. The man they said they’re looking for has a lengthy arrest record and was charged just the day before with hitting a woman and stealing her car.

That woman was in the car with the suspect when he pulled the trigger and she is now jailed on a murder charge in the death of sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Baker, according to court documents.

The deputy’s body was found in his patrol car in a wooded area several miles from where he had stopped a suspicious car on Wednesday.

Rewards totaling $35,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of Steven Joshua Wiggins, 31, a white male with balding brown hair. Officials said they believe he is armed and dangerous.

“It’s very imperative for everyone to keep their eyes, their ears open for this individual,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland said at a news conference Thursday. “He could be in Dickson County. He could be in a neighboring county. But the fact is, we don’t know where he is.”

Federal, state and local authorities have joined the search. They are checking hundreds of tips, though authorities said there had been no confirmed sightings as of Thursday evening. Wiggins was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black polo shirt, but could have changed, Niland said. Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said he believes Wiggins might be on foot in the area.