Wisconsin mystery solved after almost 30 years thanks to a missing bicycle reflector, according to the police.
Earlier this summer, a man on a bicycle was pulled over by police in West Des Moines, Iowa for a safety violation. The reason for the stop was due to the bicycle not having a reflector on it.
Police have revealed that the man they stopped, George Hartleroad, aged 71, was discovered to have an outstanding warrant from Wisconsin dating back to 1995.
As the West Des Moines officers apprehended the suspect, one of them acknowledged the individual’s lengthy evasion, stating, “You’ve been on the run for longer than two out of the three of us have been alive.”
In 1983, in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Hartleroad was found guilty of committing a violent assault against a mother from Minnesota.
According to court records, Hartleroad had previously been incarcerated and was released on parole.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections revealed that Hartleroad has been on the run since he failed to return to his halfway house.
The police body camera footage, which has been made public to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, documents the incident where Hartleroad provided the officers with a false name during the stop.
According to the body camera footage, it took the officers a considerable amount of time to ascertain the true identity of the man.
“Come on, brother. It’s time to be honest with me,” one of the officers said. “The information you provided leads back to a deceased individual.”
After a prolonged interaction, Hartleroad disclosed his true identity to the officers. This revelation ultimately led them to discover an outstanding warrant issued in Western Wisconsin.
Retired Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department investigator William Glass expressed his surprise at the fact that the person in question was still alive. Glass played a pivotal role in solving the case back in 1983.
Glass stated that the victim in this particular case would have succumbed to exposure if it weren’t for divine intervention. He further expressed his belief that God had played a role in protecting her on that fateful day.
According to Glass, he personally contacted the victim to inform her of the recent arrest made after several decades.
According to a spokesperson from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Hartleroad was brought back to the state last month and is currently being held in the Dane County Jail in Madison. The department has served him with papers notifying him of their intention to revoke his community supervision.
