A nationwide manhunt for fugitive sex offender Robbi Potter, who is believed traveling with a small child and her mother, is now centered in Colorado, the U.S. Marshal's Service said today.
A surveillance camera at an Ampride gas station in Stratton showed pictures of the vehicle that authorities believe Potter is driving refueling at the station on June 2.
Potter is believed to be with his girlfriend, Candace Watson, 24, and her three-year-old daughter, Haylee Elizabeth Jade Donathan.
Potter is wanted on both state and federal warrants for parole violations.
The surveillance footage from the Stratton station shows a woman, who investigators believe is Candace Watson, attempting to purchase fuel at the gas pump. Neither Potter nor Haylee were seen in the footage. (Is she still with them? Have they done something to her? Little kids have to be fed, they have to be taking her out of the truck to use the bathroom. Why has no one seen her?)
Andrew Deserto, a chief deputy U.S. Marshal, said that investigators are doing everything they can to find Potter and believe there is a likelihood that Potter, his girlfriend and the child are inColorado.
"He is a convicted sex offender — the most dangerous kind — committing sex offenses against minors," said Deserto.
"We want to get the little girl and want the guy caught and put him where he belongs," he added.
Deserto said that Potter walked away from a halfway house and is wanted for escape. (Am I the only person wondering if this guy is so dangerous, why wasn't he wearing a tracking anklet?)
The footage from Stratton is the last confirmed sighting of the truck since it was previously seen at a Wal-Mart in Marion, Ohio, on May 31.
Potter walked away from a Mansfield, Ohio, halfway house on May 28.
The truck is a 1988 two-tone black and green Chevrolet pickup truck with Ohio plate ENS9729. The truck has running boards along the sides and orange lights along the top of the front windshield visor.
"Our task force is working around the clock to locate this fugitive and ensure the safety of this little child," said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott. "We ask anyone with information to please contact our hotline immediately and help us bring a peaceful
Haylee Donathan ( | )
end to this intensive manhunt."
The U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Fugitive Task Force is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Potter's arrest. Anyone with information should call the toll free hotline: (866) 4WANTED. Callers may remain anonymous.
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