Man accused of child rape arrested after spending over a decade on the run, WA cops say
A man who spent more than a decade on the run after being accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl has been arrested, Washington deputies say.
The United States Marshals Service arrested Robert Jennings Vandivier on July 2, after he spent nearly a dozen years evading authorities, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 8 Facebook post.
Deputies said they first began an investigation into Vandivier in June 2009, when he was accused of impregnating a Colville girl.
The 14-year-old gave birth to a child in December 2009, and “detectives had to wait for DNA lab results to confirm Vandivier was the father,” according to deputies.
Three years later, in November 2012, a warrant for his arrest was issued, deputies said.
“But it was too late,” deputies said. “Vandivier had vanished.”
Multiple agencies, including members of the sheriff’s office and U.S. Marshals Service, set out to locate Vandivier in June.
On July 2, federal agents found and arrested Vandivier in Arizona on his outstanding warrant, third-degree rape of a child, deputies said.
“I look forward to the opportunity to finally seek justice for these crimes,” Prosecuting Attorney Ericka George said in the release.
Colville is about a 72-mile drive north from Spokane.
