update: 3:45PM
WEEDSPORT -- Authorities say a man suspected of leaving a woman bound with duct tape inside a Central New York motel room has been taken into custody in Miami, Fla.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office says FBI agents took 30-year-old Arnold Fox of Warrensburg into custody Saturday night.
Fox was wanted for questioning in the abduction and assault of a 21-year-old woman from Fort Ann, N.Y., who was found bound last Monday at the Best Western motel in Weedsport, 20 miles west of Syracuse.
She was treated for a head wound and released.
The woman told police she met Fox on the Internet. Police didn't know if Fox has a lawyer.
Here is a news release from the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office with more details on Fox's arrest:
Sheriff David Gould reports the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cayuga County District Attorney's Office and the United States Attorney's Office are continuing the investigation into the abduction and assault which concluded at the Best Western Motel in Weedsport, N.Y. on Monday, December 7th, 2009.
On the afternoon of December 8th, through information developed by Sheriff's Detectives and the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office, it was learned that Arnold Fox was most likely in the Charleston, South Carolina area. The Sheriff's Office contacted the Syracuse, N.Y. office of the FBI and requested assistance. Following that request FBI agents from New York, South Carolina and Florida became involved in the investigation and search for Arnold Fox.
On 12/11/09 a joint investigation revealed that Fox was most likely in the Miami, Florida area. On 12/12/09 an address in Miami, Florida was identified as the location that Fox was mostly likely staying at. FBI agents conducted surveillance on the residence and within a short amount of time apprehended Fox in possession of the victim's stolen Jeep in the area of the 3000 Block of the S.Dixie Highway.
At this time Arnold C. Fox is being held in Federal Custody without bail on two Federal charges: Wire Fraud and Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Motor Vehicle. The Wire Fraud charge relates to the use of the internet in luring the victim to Pennsylvania under what the investigation has revealed to be false pretenses. Fox is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshalls. A large amount of physical evidence has been recovered and is currently being analyzed by the Wally Howard Jr. Center for Forensic Sciences in Syracuse, N.Y. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office and the United States Attorney's Office are in discussion as to how the prosecution will proceed from this point on, and are awaiting the results of the forensic examinations.
Detectives are still looking to interview anyone who saw Arnold Fox in the Weedsport area or saw Arnold Fox in the company of a 21 year old female at any point during their travels. Anyone with information is asked to call Detectives at (315) 253-1610
Information from the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and the Associated Press was used in this report.
