California police Tuesday, Feb. 17, arrested a 48-year-old convicted rapist from Florence who was wanted by authorities since he failed to show up in court for his June 2024 sentencing hearing.

Jack Duane Crist was arrested at an apartment in Chico, California, by Chico police detectives, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday.

Crist pleaded guilty in Lane County Circuit Court to first-degree rape and first-degree attempted rape in connection with the rape of a juvenile victim, the sheriff’s office said.

After the court no-show, Lane County sheriff’s detectives pursued Crist, and in 2024 confirmed he had been using a false name and living in West Plains, Missouri, the news release said.

But Crist fled before authorities found him, according to the sheriff’s office.

Lane County detectives followed additional leads linking Crist to Yucca, Arizona, where the sheriff’s office said investigators determined he lived for about a year, and on Tuesday executed a search warrant after linking Crist to Bly, a rural community east of Klamath Falls. The Oregon State Police SWAT team assisted the sheriff’s office in executing the warrant.

During the search, two people were arrested on suspicion of hindering prosecution, and detectives determined Crist had fled to California, according to the sheriff’s office.

Crist is being held in a California county jail pending extradition by U.S. marshals to Lane County.