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Illinois man wanted in alleged kidnapping found in Kanawha County

UPDATE 9/24 3:15 p.m. : Christopher Derleth, 39, Katherine Derleth, 13, and her three-week-old son were found Saturday afternoon at around 2:30 p.m. at a campsite on Cabin Creek in eastern Kanawha County. Authorities say the young mother and her son were okay and taken to a Charleston hospital. Christopher Derleth was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and the Amber Alert was canceled.

 

CHELYAN, W.Va. — Members of the U.S. Marshals Service are actively engaged in a search of eastern Kanawha County this weekend for a man wanted on charges of kidnapping in Illinois.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department revealed the search is centering on Slaughter’s Creek from Chelyan in Kanawha County into Boone County near State Route 3; and Paint Creek from its mouth at the Kanawha River to the Mossy area in Fayette County.

Christopher Derleth
Christopher Derleth

Authorities are looking for Christopher Ray Delerth, 39, of Illinois. He was captured on surveillance video Friday wearing blue jeans and a forest-green colored shirt. Authorities focused on the area after Delerth’s debit card was used at the Go Mart in Chelyan and the nearby Dollar General store. There is a particular emphasis, according to authorities, on campsites near or off the beaten path in the region.

Delerth has been wanted since last Sunday when Illinois authorities issued an Amber Alert. He’s believed to have taken his step-daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Delerth, 13, and her two week old baby. Katherine is 4’8″, 95 pounds with brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and three birthmarks on her right knee.

The three are believed to be traveling in a 1996 or ’97 Mercury Villager mini-van, green in color and with Illinois plates.

Anyone spotting the three is asked to call 911 and not approach them.





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