Alabama fugitive who believed he was Scottish Robin Hood’s descendant and could not be caught nabbed after 17 years
An Alabama man who has been on the run for 17 years was nabbed by U.S. Marshals Friday in southwest Florida.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested John Joseph “Jay” Kloss III, now 67, in North Port, Florida in Sarasota County.
Kloss has been sought by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office since 2008 when he was indicted on two counts of first-degree sodomy of a child under the age of 12 and one count of second-degree sodomy of a child.
Authorities have previously said that Kloss believed he was a descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor, a famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century who is sometimes known as the Scottish Robin Hood.
Prior to fleeing after the 2008 indictments by a Jefferson County grand jury, Kloss vowed he would never be found by law enforcement, Northern District of Alabama U.S. Marshal Marty Keely previously said.
Kloss had extensive experience with computers and electronics and has worked as an IT engineer and a game developer.
He also was briefly employed as a residential alarm installer in 2000 and worked for an airport refueling planes after high school.
At the time of his disappearance, Kloss had experience as a HAM Radio operator and in broadcasting HAM Radio over the internet using online repeaters, authorities said.
He had some outdoors experience with specific knowledge of horseshoeing.
Kloss was also wanted by the Northern District of Alabama U.S. Marshals Service for a federal flight to avoid prosecution charge.
Kloss has been a wanted fugitive since Operation FALCON in 2008.
Authorities said his case has been worked extensively by over 30 different task force officers and senior inspectors over the years.
USMS officials said Friday developments in the case arose in September 2024 to both the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force (GCRFTF) in Alabama and the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force (FCRFTF).
The two task forces used investigative techniques to confirm the suspect’s identity in July.
Age progression photos provided by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office were compared to recent photos of the suspect.
Members of the USMS GCRFTF, FCRFTF and the USMS Middle District of Florida arrested Kloss without incident.
“This apprehension proves again that no matter how long a criminal has been on the run, we never stop looking for them,” said Middle District of Florida U.S. Marshal William Berger, Sr.
“Our dedicated team of investigators and deputies as well as our partners never let this case get cold.”
“The cooperative effort seen on this capture proves again that criminals, especially of this kind, have no safe place here in Florida,” Berger said.
“It is well known that Kloss’s last words to a co-worker before he went on the run were ‘They will never find me’. Today, we indeed found him.”
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