Published: July 10, 2009 12:29 am      

Marshals round up 500 fugitives

CHARLESTON — The U.S. Marshals Service has rounded up more than 500 fugitives across West Virginia, including a man in Marshall County who tried to hide 25 feet up a tree.

Operation Falcon is an annual monthlong venture between the marshals and officers from state, federal and local agencies. Each participating officer is temporarily sworn in as a special deputy marshal for the project.

The fugitives caught throughout June were wanted on warrants that included murder, sexual assault and robbery charges.

The goal is to keep communities safe, Marshals Service Director John Clark said Thursday. One suspect, who was charged with breaking into a home in Cameron and shooting the occupant, was captured July 1 after fleeing into the woods. K-9 teams found him hiding up a tree.

Deputy U.S. Marshall Jason Dias said he and about 10 other officers combed thick woods for about five hours before two dogs led them to a barn, where they found matted-down hay and a food container. Dias said his eye was drawn to what looked like a tree fort that turned out to be the suspect, dressed in a long, greenish-brown duster coat.

Another suspect who was wanted on an attempted murder charge in Huntington was found hiding in a closet in a home there, said Christopher Lair, spokesman for the Marshals Service’s southern district.

The sweep netted 477 arrests on 739 outstanding warrants in southern West Virginia, Lair said. Clark said 40 fugitives were captured in the northern district.

Since its inception in 2005, Operation Falcon has resulted in 91,086 arrests and 117,874 warrants being cleared across the country.