Fugitives caught in Yellowstone National Park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming (CNN) -- Two men wanted in Minnesota in connection with the robbing and beating of an elderly couple were held in a Wyoming jail Saturday after park rangers and police captured them in Yellowstone National Park.

Patrick Engelbrecht, 18, and Thomas O'Flanagan, 19, and an unidentified female were spotted in a stolen pickup truck the park Friday by a park ranger, police said.

The two men stole the truck in New Brighton, Minnesota, on August 5 after forcing their way into a house and robbing and beating an elderly couple, according to John Ellickson, New Brighton deputy director of public safety.

The men told the couple their car had broken down and asked to use their phone, Ellickson said. They left, but returned five minutes later and forced their way into the couple's home at gunpoint, he said.

"We don't know why, but they beat both of them severely," said Ellickson. "The woman is still in critical condition. The man has been upgraded to satisfactory." On Friday, park rangers evacuated a Yellowstone campground and buildings around Fishing Bridge, called for SWAT officers from Gallatin County, Montana, and surrounded the pickup.

A SWAT team member threw a "flash-bang" canister at the truck and found that the vehicle was empty, Ellickson said.

Officials found the trio about four hours later when a park visitor spotted the suspects about three miles north of the abandoned truck.

"We launched a search of the area where they were seen," said park spokeswoman Marsha Karle. "One of the searchers looked up and saw them hiding in the trees."

The suspects tried to run, Karle said, but did not struggle with the rangers and police who took the men into custody. The female companion, a juvenile, was also arrested.

Karle said the men had a handgun, a knife and a hammer with them when they were arrested. Ellickson said Minnesota police believed the men were carrying up to six handguns and rifles.

The pickup truck has been impounded, Karle said, and will be searched for weapons and other evidence.