Seneca, South Carolina: The U.S. Marshals Service has announced that one of their 15 Most Wanted has been located albeit not in a customary manner.
On November 6 a concerned neighbor conducted a welfare check on an elderly neighbor that had not been seen in weeks. Believing that they were checking on 70-year-old "James Fitzgerald," they found a decomposing body and contacted authorities.
As an autopsy was performed "authorities made their own discovery- the dead man was 15 Most Wanted fugitive Frederick Cecil McLean who had been on the run for more than 16 years" the press release issued by the U.S. Marshals reads.
No foul play is suspected in his death.
U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis said, "The discovery of Frederick McLean's body marks an end to the manhunt, but the investigation continues."
McLean was wanted by the San Diego Sheriff's Department in California for multiple counts of sexual assault and was "deemed a high risk for sexually assaulting young girls." At least some of the victims were met through his ties to the Jehovah's Witness church.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in 2005 and he was added to the Most Wanted list in 2006.
One victim, now an adult, stated that McLean had assaulted her more than 100 times beginning when she was just five years old. The abuse was ongoing for approximately seven years.
The U.S. Marshals have determined that McLean lived in Poughkeepsie, New York and Anderson, South Carolina under various aliases before settling into Seneca.
"Because of his alleged crimes, we are concerned there may be other victims out there," U.S. Marshal Steve Stafford of the Southern District of California said.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office or law enforcement office.