A 56-year-old woman working at a Palm Coast dental practice turned out to be a wanted fugitive from Tennessee, according to Flagler County deputies who took her into custody on Nov. 7 without incident. Kathryn James now sits in a Flagler County jail cell awaiting extradition, accused of a felony theft-of-property charge nearly a thousand miles from where she allegedly committed it.
A Tip Unravels a Hidden Identity
According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the arrest grew out of a case the agency framed as a textbook example of community tipsters paying off, describing it as a case where ‘See Something, Say Something’ leads to out-of-county fugitive arrest. The sheriff's office said deputies arrested the Palm Coast woman on Saturday, Nov. 7, closing out what had been a search for someone agency officials believed was hiding locally.
Per the Tampa Free Press, the sheriff's office said James was wanted in Tennessee on a felony theft-of-property charge, and that the agency's fugitive apprehension unit had received information suggesting she was likely hiding somewhere in the local area. That tip set deputies on a trail that ended not at a hideout, but at a workplace.
Found Behind the Front Desk
Investigators learned that James worked at a dental practice in Palm Coast, and deputies went there to take her into custody, according to the same report. The arrest reportedly happened at her workplace without incident, and the sheriff's office noted that police canines were not needed during the operation.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said the fugitive apprehension unit found a fugitive who had been hiding in Flagler County, framing the arrest as the product of patient investigative work rather than a dramatic standoff. Staly said James would return to Tennessee to face justice for stealing, according to the outlet's report.
Held on $50,000 Bond, Awaiting Extradition
Deputies transported James to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility following her arrest, per the sheriff's office. She remains in custody there with bond set at $50,000, and she now awaits extradition back to Tennessee, where the theft charge originated.
The arrest came during a busy stretch for Flagler County deputies. The sheriff's office reported that deputies made nine arrests over the weekend, logged between 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, and 6 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 9 — a window that encompassed James's capture along with the rest of that period's enforcement activity.
