Police arrest suspect in Wyoming child abduction

Suspect sketch

CODY, Wyo. – Authorities have captured the man who abducted and sexually assaulted a young girl in Wyoming on Monday. 

The man’s name has not been released, however according to the Helena Independent Record, 40-year-old Jesse Paul Speer was booked into jail at 11:15 p.m. Saturday by the FBI on a warrant from Wyoming. The paper said Speer is being held on a $2 million bond.

KTVQ in Billings, Mont., reported that Speer is the only person being held on a warrant from Wyoming.

The FBI released a sketch of the suspect Saturday, who they said lured a girl into his SUV at the Park County Complex in Cody on Oct. 8, after he asked for her help in finding his missing puppy.

The suspect was driving a white Toyota 4-Runner, which has also been recovered, according to Wyoming Highway Patrol.

According to Dave Joly of Denver FBI, law enforcement officers arrested the man in Belgrade, Montana.

The girl was found in a rural area by a group of hunters, and was later reunited with her family.

The suspect was described as a 6-foot tall white male, 45-60 years old, who weighed 185 to 200 pounds. Police said he had short strawberry blond or white hair, and neatly trimmed facial hair. He was last seen wearing a brown shirt, blue jeans and a tan baseball cap.

Authorities believed the man may have been living in his car because there was bedding material in the vehicle, and a black and red backpack with a case of bottled water tied to the top of the SUV.

There was a weapon in the car, and the suspect was considered to be armed and dangerous when he was on the loose.

Law enforcement officers recovered a silver and black Tule cargo box that used to be on the roof of the car, and were processing the box for evidence.

The FBI did not believe the abduction in Wyoming was related to the disappearance of Jessica Ridgeway.