The trapped Federal law enforcement officers called on the United States Air Force to open a path for them to escape with their prisoners. The Air Force swept in before daybreak, and the Virginian fighters met them in the skies over the Rockfish Gap. Missiles and gunfire lit the night for a few minutes, but the Virginians were heavily outnumbered and the Air Force quickly took control of Rockfish Gap airspace. Air strikes soon dispersed the Virginians blocking the Federal officers’ escape route, allowing them to flee the fighting with the mayor of Lexington and his family in their custody. Live and nearly-live footage of the fighting preceded them, which did not improve matters for them.