Current:Home > MarketsAuthorities recapture fugitive who used dead child's identity after escaping prison in 1994-LoTradeCoin
Authorities recapture fugitive who used dead child's identity after escaping prison in 1994
View Date:2024-12-24 00:48:53
An Oregon man, using a dead child’s identity to evade authorities, was arrested earlier this week after more than 20 years on the run.
A U.S. Marshals Service regional task force detained 70-year-old Steven Craig Johnson at an apartment complex in Macon, Georgia, over 2,500 miles east of Salem, Oregon, where he had been serving out a state prison sentence for multiple sex crimes.
Johnson had been in the area since 2011, living and working under the alias of William Cox, which was the identity of a Texas child that died in January 1962, according to a news release.
He was able to obtain a copy of the dead child’s birth certificate and eventually a social security number.
Marshals Service officials have spent nearly a decade looking for Johnson, attributing the development of “new investigative technology” in the last year as the reason why they were able to locate and arrest him.
Oregon fugitive awaits extradition, originally fled from work crew
Johnson is set to return to the place he fled from in November 1994.
He ditched a work crew at Mill Creek Correctional Facility, where he was serving time for sexual abuse and sodomy, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Johnson was described as a “pedophile,” who “presents a high probability of victimizing pre-teen boys," the Oregon Department of Corrections said in a 2019 notice. Johnson was “wanted” on a 30-year-old state arrest warrant, which was issued after his escape from the now-closed minimum security facility.
He was arrested and booked into Bibb County Jail in Macon, where he is awaiting extradition back to Oregon. Johnson had served a little over five years when he made his escape and has about 11 years remaining on his sentence, according to reporting by the Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
All escaped inmates are subject to ODOC reviews to “determine the threat based on the level of felony charges and time remaining on their sentences.” the Statesman Journal reported. Those with “highest degrees of crime” are considered "most wanted.”
The ODOC has apprehended 38 fugitives since 2012 and has six escapees, including Johnson, on its "most wanted" list, the Statesman Journal reported.
Contributing: Isabel Funk; Salem Statesman Journal
veryGood! (87)
Related
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- With father of suspect charged in Georgia shooting, will more parents be held responsible?
- Amy Adams 'freaked out' her dog co-stars in 'Nightbitch' by acting too odd
- Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes Debunk Feud Rumors With U.S. Open Double Date
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- Grand Canyon’s main water line has broken dozens of times. Why is it getting a major fix only now?
- DirecTV files complaint against Disney with FCC as impasse enters 2nd week
- NFL schedule today: Everything to know about Week 1 games on Sunday
- 1 monkey captured, 42 monkeys still on the loose after escaping research facility in SC
- American Taylor Fritz makes history in five-set win over friend Frances Tiafoe at US Open
Ranking
- Trump hammered Democrats on transgender issues. Now the party is at odds on a response
- Stellantis recalls 1.5M Ram trucks to fix software bug that can disable stability control
- Ratepayers Have Had Enough Of Rising Energy Bills
- With father of suspect charged in Georgia shooting, will more parents be held responsible?
- As the transition unfolds, Trump eyes one of his favorite targets: US intelligence
- Amy Adams 'freaked out' her dog co-stars in 'Nightbitch' by acting too odd
- ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ jolts box office with $110 million opening weekend
- Go inside Kona Stories, a Hawaiian bookstore with an ocean view and three cats
Recommendation
-
Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon steps down after 10 seasons amid first year in FBS
-
Evacuations ordered as wildfire burns in foothills of national forest east of LA
-
Don't Miss J.Crew Outlet's End-of-Summer Sale: Score an Extra 50% Off Clearance & Up to 60% Off Sitewide
-
Michigan groom accused of running over groomsman, killing him, bride arrested, too
-
As the transition unfolds, Trump eyes one of his favorite targets: US intelligence
-
College football upsets yesterday: Week 2 scores saw ranked losses, close calls
-
Inside the Gruesome Deadpool Killer Case That Led to a Death Sentence for Wade Wilson
-
No. 3 Texas football, Quinn Ewers don't need karma in smashing defeat of No. 9 Michigan