Level 3 Sex Offender Royce Drift Apprehended In Northern Minnesota
Update: Minnesota corrections officials say Royce Drift was taken into custody in Virginia, Minnesota, following a tip from the public.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities are asking the public's help in finding a level three sex offender who absconded from a Duluth halfway house earlier this month.
Royce Drift, 33, cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet and fled from the halfway house on Oct. 2, about a month after being released from the St. Louis County Jail on intensive supervised release, the Minnesota Department of Corrections says.
Drift has an extensive criminal history that includes sexual assault, assault, and false imprisonment. He is described as standing about 6-feet tall, weighing 156 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He often shaves his facial hair into a goatee.
Drift has ties to the Minnesota communities of Eveleth, Nett Lake and Virginia, officials say.
Anyone who sees Drift is encouraged to call 911 immediately. Officials say he is not to be confronted. Anyone with information on Drift's whereabouts is asked to call the Department of Corrections fugitive hotline at 651-603-0026.
