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Fugitive Wanted for 30 Years Captured in Rexford

Jacob Moritz was wanted various drug smuggling crimes, according to the U.S. Border Patrol

By Beacon Staff

A fugitive accused of smuggling drugs around the world via cargo ships in the 1970s and 1980s was captured near Rexford last month after sneaking across the border.

Jacob Moritz was wanted for nearly 30 years after he fled the country in 1989 when he was charged with various drug smuggling crimes, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

On April 14, agents were advised of two suspicious individuals emerging from the trees in an area approximately a quarter mile from the United States-Canada border near Rexford. The following morning, the agents encountered the two individuals, one of which was Moritz, and asked them how they had gotten to such a remote location. Through questioning it was determined both had illegally entered the United States. The second man was a Canadian citizen who was processed for removal.

Moritz was turned over to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and then the U.S. Marshals Service.

“This is another excellent example of our agents doing their job to protect our country from those that are here to conduct illegal activities,” Patrol Agent in Charge Paul Farmer said. “It should also be known that Mr. Moritz was uncooperative during questioning, however, that will never stop us from finding out who you are or what you have done in your past.  If that includes conducting criminal activities 30 years ago, you will be turned over to the proper authorities and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”