Police Scour Woods Near St. Charles Church for Wanted Man

St. Charles Police searched a wooded area behind Tuesday for a 55- to 65-year-old man suspected of molesting a child.

Lt. Dave Senter of said officers were simply following up on a possible reported sighting of the suspect. The search centered on the wooded area near the church at 2701 Muegge Road near Mexico Road.

“One of our detectives has a person of interest in a sexual assault case involving a child,” Senter said. “We had several reported sightings of him yesterday.”

KMOV-TV reported that First Baptist had its annual vacation Bible school in progress during the search.

He said a police helicopter already was aloft during the search, so it joined in searching the area, and the helicopter attracted media attention. However, Senter said police do not know whether the man is in the St. Charles area.

“We’ve received reports that the guy is in town and we’ve heard that he’s out of state,” he said. “Obviously, he is still wanted and we’re still looking for him.”