Sex Offender Featured On 'America’s Most Wanted' Captured In Canada After 21-Year Run
A convicted sex offender who went on the run more than two decades ago has been apprehended north of the border.
Louis Edward Flood, 77, was arrested by multiple agencies on July 13 after Canadian authorities received word that he was living in Creston, British Columbia — just a few miles north of the Idaho border, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced Tuesday.
Flood, who’d been living under the assumed name Charles Payne, according to the Vancouver Sun, made no efforts to arresting officers to conceal his identity and asked if he could be let go.
Flood, of Boise, Idaho, was convicted in 1997 — when he would've been 52 — for lewd conduct and sexual abuse against a minor under 16 years of age, according to the RCMP. He served three years of an 18-year sentence before fleeing while out on parole 2001 .
He failed to register as a sex offender, according to NBC Boise affiliate KTVB, and the Idaho State’s Sex Offender Registry listed Flood as non-compliant.
His status as a fugitive was featured on “America’s Most Wanted” in 2011.
Idaho Department of Corrections spokesperson Jeff Ray said Flood had been living in an assisted living facility in Canada before he allegedly revealed his true identity to care workers, according to KTVB. Flood reportedly hoped this could help him collect Social Security benefits.
Creston RCMP Constable Dave Bickle reached out to the American side when hearing word that Flood was living in Creston, and ended up working with the U.S. Marshals Service, Idaho State Corrections and the Idaho State Police
“I was contacted immediately after my initial request, and they provided me Flood’s records from 2001,” Bickle stated. "They outline how he was not complying with his parole, and they provided a warrant for his arrest.”
Bickle said he also received a photograph of Flood from 2000 to confirm the fugitive’s identity.
According to the Vancouver outlet, Bickle obtained a removal warrant from the Canada Border Services Agency. Flood was subsequently booked into the Okanagan Correctional Centre on July 21 before being returned to the States.
“I never thought I would be involved with such an interesting arrest,” said Bickle. “And to have the opportunity [to] work with so many different agencies.”
He called the arrest the “highlight” of his career.
RCMP officials said Flood was released to the custody of the U.S. Marshals’ Fugitive Transport Unit on Monday. Idaho state officials claimed they expect Flood to serve the remaining 13 years of his previous sentence.
It remains unclear whether or not Flood had ties to the area or for how long he had lived in British Columbia.
“This was excellent police work by Constable Bickle. I am proud of how well he worked with all these different agencies,” said Corporal Evan Diachok, Detachment Commander of the Creston RCMP. “Everyone pulled together to get Louis Flood into custody.”
Diachok also thanked their U.S. partners and Canada Border Services for their work.
Flood is currently being held at the Snohomish County Jail in Washington, awaiting transport back to Idaho, according to KTVB. He will then appear before the Commission of Pardons and Parole, who will hear his case.
