Washington Co. manhunt over, Larry Arnold now in custody



WASHINGTON CO. (WITI) -- Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Department took fugitive Larry Arnold into custody around 11 a.m. Thursday, April 25th.

Deputies located Arnold under some pine trees near Farmington in the northwest side of the county. It appeared he suffered from frostbite. Deputies are taking him to get medical attention.

One of those who ran into Arnold on Thursday was Darrell Westenberg.

"I come back into the house, and here he is, standing in the garage drinking a soda. I almost bumped right into him, when I came down through the door over there," said Westenberg.

The man sipping soda at 8:30 a.m. was Arnold, who was wanted in Wood County on felony bail jumping and contempt of court warrants stemming from a disorderly conduct case.

"I just looked at him and he turned around looked at me and said, 'Could you give me a ride to town?' I almost started laughing, I thought what the heck, you know?" said Westenberg. "I said, 'I ain't got time right now.' And he says, 'Okay.' And he turned around and he walked out the door."

With Arnold gone, Westenberg called 911. When the deputy arrived, he actually saw Arnold running from Westenberg's home. That started a short foot pursuit.

Just after 11 a.m., following a coordinated foot search in the Town of Farmington, Washington County Sheriff's Captain Steve Gonwa said Arnold was taken into custody.

"He's being treated at Saint Joseph`s Hospital in the West Bend area for possible frostbite to his feet," said Gonwa.

Capt. Gonwa says the search for Arnold began out of concern for the convicted child sex offender's well-being after his car was discovered at the Kettle Moraine State Forest on Saturday.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.