Posted at: 10/02/2012 9:39 PM
Updated at: 10/02/2012 10:10 PM
By: Dietrich Nissen
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Email to a FriendStabbing Suspect In Custody After Day-Long Manhunt
(ABC 6 News) -- Less than 24 hours after it began, the hunt for a Rochester man suspected of stabbing a 12 year-old girl, is over. 31 year-old, Dillon Caudill, was caught just before 4:30 P.M. on Tuesday, after leading police on a nearly 12-hour manhunt.
A Rochester Police patrol officer was driving along Marion Road when they spotted Caudill walking near 16th Street Southeast. The officer confronted him and Caudill turned himself over without a fight. However, the task of finding him was anything but easy.
The hunt for Caudill began around 2:30 A.M. Tuesday morning. Police got a call a 12 year-old girl had been stabbed in the chest at a home on the 200 block of 6th Avenue Northwest.
"He's an acquaintance of the family, of the girl's mother for the most part. Uh, they've known each other for not a real long time," says investigator, Lieutenant Casey Moilanen.
As police responded to that home, a separate canine unit tracking Caudill back to his apartment a few blocks away. It took less than ten minutes for police to surround the complex.
"The way we coordinated our response to this location we had a strong belief that the suspect was here," says Patrol Captain, John Sherwin. But after seven hours, they learned he wasn't there.
"A short time ago we had our Emergency Response Unit - did enter the suspect's apartment. uh, determined that the apartment is vacant," says Sherwin.
Police’s concern grew because Caudill has a violent criminal past. Police say he's currently on parole after spending more than a year in prison for a home invasion in Colorado. Police released several photos and a description in hopes of catching him.
"Maybe he's going to steal a car, or he has friends we're not familiar with, so one of the best things we can do is get the information out there like we tried to do," says Moilanen.
Nearly 12 hours after it all started, a patrol officer finally caught the 6-foot tall, 185-pound man at the Southeast Rochester intersection.
"It was nice. It was a nice break definitely," says Moilanen.
A break that ended what could've been more than a day long manhunt. Police are interviewing Caudill to try and figure out what happened and why.
As for the 12 year old girl, we contacted St. Marys Hospital for her condition but did not hear back.
