Samual CravensOfficials said this morning that an Indiana man sought in Bledsoe County since early Tuesday on child sexual assault charges is still on the loose.
Officials in Bledsoe County, Tenn., continued to search today for an Indiana man sought on child sexual assault charges who had been on the loose since early Tuesday.
Federal officials said today the manhunt in Bledsoe County was not related "in any shape or form" to the U.S. Marshals Service, as was previously reported in other media and elsewhere. The federal agency is helping in the search.
Samual Cravens, 38, has been on the run since last week after he allegedly sexually assaulted a minor, according to police in Fortville, Ind. Cravens is wanted on three felony warrants charging him with child molestation - two counts linked to an incident in Fortville and another count to an incident in outlying Hancock County, according to authorities there.
Cravens is accused of forcing a teen girl to have sex with him, according to The Daily Reporter newspaper in Greenfield, Ind.
Authorities said Cravens fled Tuesday morning from an unknown vehicle near the AutoZone in Pikeville, Tenn., according to the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service office in Chattanooga.
U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Paul Salayko, who works in the Chattanooga office, said the federal agency was not involved in the incident in any way. He said a U.S. Marshals Service agent was in Pikeville after the search for Cravens began.
Bledsoe County Sheriff's Office officials did not return calls for comment.
The alleged victim came forward last Thursday after the assault took place, the newspaper reported. Authorities said they spoke with Cravens briefly that day, asking him to come to the Fortville Police Department to speak with detectives.
Cravens never showed up, and on Friday, authorities in Indiana filed criminal charges against him. Police went to Cravens' place of work but were told he "abruptly left the job site" and was last seen walking toward a nearby wooded area, the newspaper reported.
Cravens is described as a white man about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes.
It is unclear how Cravens got to Pikeville before he became the subject of a search.
Cravens has shaved or trimmed his beard since the accompanying photo was taken, officials said.
Anyone who sees Cravens or knows of his whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.