South Kitsap man who left state with 4 children arrested in Mexico

A 38-year-old Olalla man who was wanted after he left the state with his four children earlier this year was arrested in Mexico, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday.

San Diego, California, jail records note that Joshua Lee Susee was arrested by the United States Marshals Service and was booked into jail there on Thursday, Sept. 7.

Susee was believed to have taken his four children — ages 10, 10, 6 and 3 — and left the state with a woman earlier this year, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, which noted that he was arrested in Ensenada, Mexico, a roughly two-hour drive south of the U.S.-Mexico border. The four children had been listed as missing. Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kevin McCarty said Monday that the children were with Susee in Mexico but had returned to Washington and were safe.

Susee was supposed to return the children to the care of their mother but did not, she wrote in court documents in March, and a Kitsap County judge signed an order directing law enforcement to recover the children. Later that month, prosecutors charged Susee with one count of first-degree custodial interference in Kitsap County Superior Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bail was set then at $1 million.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Washington man who left state with children arrested in Mexico