A Missouri man wanted on federal weapons-related charges managed to keep police searching for hours after fleeing into a heavily wooded area near New Florence. Unfortunately for him, his camouflage wasn’t enough to keep him hidden from aircraft, drones, and a collection of deer cameras that helped authorities track his movements.
According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, deputies first responded to the 100 block of Strube Road around 6:30 a.m. on October 8, 2026, after a property owner spotted people wearing camouflage on a deer camera. Deputies searched the surrounding area but were unable to locate the individuals.
Later that afternoon, around 4:50 p.m., deputies received another trespassing complaint involving two camouflage-clad individuals in the 300 block of South Highway 19. One person had reportedly received a ride away from the property, while the other left on foot and ran into the woods when deputies approached.
Investigators eventually located the individual who had received a ride and obtained information identifying the fleeing man as a 52-year-old Kansas City resident. A records check revealed that he had an outstanding no-bond warrant through the U.S. Marshals Service for weapons-related charges, with nationwide extradition authorized.
Deer Cameras and Police Aircraft Help Track Wanted Man Through Woods
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Deputies established a perimeter around the wooded area while a Sheriff’s Office drone pilot began searching for the fleeing suspect. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also provided aircraft assistance as officers worked to locate him in the difficult terrain.
At approximately 7:16 p.m., a property owner’s deer camera captured another image of the wanted man near the 100 block of Strube Road, prompting officers to reposition their perimeter. A Missouri State Highway Patrol aircraft subsequently located him lying along a tree line south of a pond, although he managed to evade deputies and troopers pursuing him on foot.
Officers maintained the perimeter despite losing sight of the man, and their search uncovered a personal bag containing a large quantity of ginseng. Additional assistance arrived from the Highway Patrol’s K9 and drone divisions, along with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and its police dog, Ace.
Suspect Found Hiding in Tree Wearing Full Ghillie Suit
At approximately 10 p.m., Missouri State Highway Patrol drone and aircraft crews finally located the man hiding in a tree. Officers and a K9 team surrounded his position, where they discovered that he was wearing a full ghillie suit designed to blend into the surrounding vegetation.
The man was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the Montgomery County Jail on his outstanding warrant. The Sheriff’s Office said it was seeking additional charges for multiple counts of first-degree trespassing and felony resisting arrest, although those charges were still pending application at the time of its announcement.
Meanwhile, the Missouri Department of Conservation seized the ginseng discovered during the search and opened a separate investigation into possible possession-limit and harvesting-permit violations. The Sheriff’s Office credited cooperating agencies and local property owners for helping bring the manhunt to an end, with the deer camera images proving especially useful in locating a suspect whose camouflage had kept officers searching for much of the day.