A 28-year-old Plymouth man wanted on a Level 1 felony child molestation warrant out of Starke County was taken into custody without incident at a residence on 11B Road on Friday, after Plymouth Police say he complied with commands to exit the home. Three other people at the address were also arrested and now face felony charges tied to the fugitive's presence and suspected methamphetamine found on the property.
According to GIANT FM, Plymouth Police received information that Hunter Cole was at 12670 11B Road at approximately 4 p.m. Friday. Officers responded to the address along with K9 Kyzer, the Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Marshall County Sheriff's Department. K9 Kyzer assisted with verbal announcements calling for Cole to exit the residence, and he was located there and taken into custody without incident, per the same report.
Cole had an outstanding Level 1 felony warrant for child molestation stemming from a case that began earlier this month. As detailed by ABC57, Knox Police officers responded to a domestic disturbance in the 900 block of South Prettyman Street on August 3 and uncovered allegations of sexual abuse of a child inside the home. Knox Police transferred the investigation to the Starke County Major Crimes Unit, which formally charged Cole with two counts of child molestation. He was booked into the Starke County Justice Center under a $100,000 cash bond after being turned over to the Starke County Sheriff's Department following Friday's operation.
Three Others Arrested on Felony Charges
Along with Cole, Plymouth Police arrested three other people at the 11B Road residence: 34-year-old Jhordan Cole, 49-year-old Mary Morrow, and 43-year-old Adam Risner, all of Plymouth. Law enforcement recovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the property, according to the local report.
Jhordan Cole was charged with felony assisting a criminal, felony maintaining a common nuisance, a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia. The report notes that he attempted to hide an item while exiting the residence. Morrow and Risner were each charged with felony assisting a criminal and felony maintaining a common nuisance. All three were transported to the Marshall County Jail.
Under Indiana law, harboring or concealing a fugitive wanted for a Level 1 or Level 2 felony elevates what would otherwise be a Class A misdemeanor charge of assisting a criminal to a Level 5 felony, punishable by one to six years in prison, according to Justia Law. That is why Jhordan Cole, Morrow, and Risner face felony-level assisting charges rather than misdemeanors — because Hunter Cole was wanted on a Level 1 warrant, the most serious felony tier in Indiana below murder.
A Property With a Troubled Past
The 11B Road address is no stranger to law enforcement attention. In June 2024, the same property was the site of a major narcotics raid dubbed Operation Thin Blue Line, in which the Marshall County Drug Task Force, Indiana State Police, and Plymouth Police seized 354 grams of methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, ammonium nitrate, and an active meth lab, per GIANT FM's earlier reporting. Six people were arrested during that raid, including then-property owner Nathan Vanderaa, a former Indiana State Police officer who was charged with Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine and Level 4 felony manufacturing methamphetamine and held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Maintaining a common nuisance, the charge filed against Jhordan Cole, Morrow, and Risner, is a Level 6 felony under Indiana law when a person knowingly maintains a structure used for keeping, using, or storing controlled substances such as methamphetamine, carrying a possible sentence of six months to two-and-a-half years, according to Justia Law. Meanwhile, a Level 1 felony child molestation conviction in Indiana carries a mandatory 20 to 40 years in state prison, with an advisory sentence of 30 years and fines up to $10,000, for anyone 21 or older who engages in sexual conduct with a child under 14, per FindLaw.
Local Drug Enforcement Context
Friday's operation reflects the kind of cross-jurisdictional cooperation that has become routine in Marshall County, where Plymouth Police, the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, and the Marshall County Drug Task Force are authorized under Indiana Code § 36-1-7 to execute interlocal mutual assistance agreements for joint tactical operations. Hoodline previously covered a related manhunt near Rochester that similarly drew on shared personnel and K9 resources across county lines.
Methamphetamine remains a persistent issue locally: the Marshall County Sheriff's Department reported 11 separate meth-related bookings at the county jail in June, making it the seventh most frequent cause of arrest that month. The department also reported 179 total bookings and an average daily jail population of 119 inmates in June, down from 142 inmates a year earlier, with Plymouth Police making 72 arrests and county deputies making 78.
As with all pending cases, the charging information against Hunter Cole, Jhordan Cole, Mary Morrow, and Adam Risner is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed, and all four are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings.
