Alleged child sexual assault fugitive captured after 4 years on the run: Police
An alleged child sexual assault fugitive has been taken into custody after more than four years on the run and a five-day manhunt in Colorado, according to officials.
Paul Sandoval, 62, was arrested just before 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday on Blanca Peak in Southeastern Colorado, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Sandoval was apprehended in a multi-agency manhunt comprised of more than 70 people from multiple federal, state and municipal agencies in Colorado and led by the U.S. Marshals Service Colorado Violent Offender Task Force and the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service statement said.
Sandoval is wanted for felony sexual assault of a child and other charges, according to the statement.
“We want to express our gratitude and thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service and all of the other agencies involved that came to assist in this manhunt. We couldn’t have done it without their help,” Alamosa County Sheriff Robert Jackson said in the statement.
In March 2021, Sandoval allegedly bound and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in a shed on his property, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, and fled into the mountains after the Alamosa County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for his arrest that same month.
Sandoval was spotted in late August after allegedly breaking into a home and vehicle in Alamosa County, the statement said. He was spotted on surveillance devices placed in the area by law enforcement and was "confirmed to be armed with a rifle," according to the statement.
Some 13 state and federal agencies participated in the ensuing manhunt for Sandoval, in addition to the U.S. Marshals Service, including local and state law enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the statement said.
Sandoval is being held at the Alamosa County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned early Monday afternoon, according to the Colorado Courts and Probation website.
A spokesperson for the Alamosa County Jail declined to comment about Sandoval when contacted by ABC News, saying they were not authorized to do so.
