FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2008
David P. Gonzales
United States Marshal
Thomas Twohey
Deputy U.S. Marshal, Public Affairs Officer
(520) 904-3054


Most wanted sex offender flees to Mexico, captured and returned to Arizona

Tucson, Ariz.- The United States Marshals Service WANTED Fugitive Task Force announces the capture of a convicted sex offender who fled to Mexico while on probation. The fugitive was considered one of Goodyear, Arizona’s most wanted fugitives.

Authorities from the Sonora State Investigative Police (PEI) in Mexico located the fugitive, Dale Washburn, in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico and detained him at the request of the U.S. Marshals Mexico Investigative Liaison in Tucson, Arizona. Washburn, a U.S. citizen, was deported from Mexico by the National Institute of Immigration (INM) at the DeConcini Port of Entry to the custody of U. S. Marshals and the Goodyear Police Department.

Washburn, 59, was on probation in Maricopa County, Arizona when he allegedly failed to register as a sex offender as required by law. A warrant for his arrest was then issued in January, 2008. During the search for Washburn, investigators believed that Washburn may have fled to Mexico. The Goodyear Police Department contacted the U.S. Marshals WANTED Fugitive Task Force in Phoenix and requested assistance.

Investigators from the U.S. Marshals Mexico Investigative Liaison unit in Tucson were contacted and an International Investigation was initiated. On September 3, 2008, federal authorities secured an arrest warrant for Washburn for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. With the assistance of the Federal Investigative Agency (AFI) in Mexico and the Attorney General of Mexico (PGR) in Los Angeles, the fugitive was tracked down and found to be residing in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. After Washburn was detained, Mexican immigration authorities determined that he had no legal status in the country and was expelled.

David P. Gonzales, United States Marshal for the District of Arizona, praised the efforts of all law enforcement officers involved in the arrest. “Bi-National cooperation in the capture of this fugitive makes neighborhoods here and abroad much safer.â€