Alabama suspects still on the loose in Marion County near state line

Tennessee kidnapping warrant awaits man at large with female teenager

THUMBNAIL Photo contributed by the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force / Rodsvin Caballero
THUMBNAIL Photo contributed by the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force / Rodsvin Caballero
photo Photo contributed by the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force / Rodsvin Caballero

Authorities in Marion County, Tennessee, are looking for a man suspected in a Tennessee kidnapping and a teenage girl who has been on the run with him.

The pair are being sought in the New Hope area near the Tennessee River since a chase in Alabama and their flight over the state line on Friday.

The girl, 16, is believed to be an accomplice of 34-year-old Rodsvin Caballero, who has been sought since Oct. 16 when he fled from Alabama authorities in Bridgeport, authorities said.

Jackson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen in Alabama said authorities there called off operations south of the state line Friday after an extensive search on the Alabama side didn't turn up anything.

He said Caballero and the teen girl were in a car that crashed in Bridgeport Friday. The pair fled on foot, Harnen said Wednesday.

(READ MORE: Duo whose crime spree triggered Marion County manhunt sentenced in federal court)

Harnen said reports of a kidnapping have not been substantiated in Alabama, where an investigation is continuing. The teen girl for now is only potentially connected with the investigation and Caballero because suspected drugs were found in the car they crashed in Bridgeport, Harnen said of the Alabama end of the case.

Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said Wednesday that Caballero is the subject of an active warrant charging him with aggravated kidnapping issued in Marion County. Burnett said the charge stems from incidents a week or so ago that started out in Jackson County.

Burnett said he couldn't elaborate. Burnett said the teen girl, who is from the Nashville area, is not linked to the kidnapping.

"She's just running with him," Burnett said. "I don't think there are any charges against her."

Burnett said there might be more searches if information on the two's whereabouts develops, but ground operations have been scaled back.

The sheriff said Caballero was seen by several residents since Friday, including when New Hope Mayor Mark Myers spotted him behind the Dollar General store there a couple of days ago. Authorities believe the two are still somewhere in the area.

Caballero, originally from El Salvador, has been deported twice for being in the U.S. illegally, Burnett said. He said drug task force agents helped with operations.

(READ MORE: Alabama man arrested in Marion County man's 2016 disappearance)

According to a statement posted on social media by the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force in Tennessee, officers first searched the area near Long Island, an island mostly in Alabama in the Tennessee River that just crosses the Tennessee-Alabama line.

The search area extended north to the Colonial Chemical area in New Hope on the other side of the river, authorities said in the post on the task force's social media page. The pair were seen by multiple residents near the railroad tracks that pass through the New Hope community, task force officials said.

On Monday, law enforcement searched the New Hope and Long Island area again after Caballero was spotted near the Dollar General store, according to officials. Burnett said searchers used ground teams and a drone to look for Caballero in the heavily wooded area around the store but didn't find him.

Burnett said Wednesday that deputies will continue to do extra patrols in the New Hope area as they wait for more information.

Meanwhile, Caballero and the teen girl are considered armed and dangerous, and authorities say they should not be approached. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call 911 or their local law enforcement office.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 423-942-2525 and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 256-574-2610.

(READ MORE: Marion County principal under investigation after social media attack on Biden-Harris ticket)

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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