Wanted Fugitives in Northern Michigan: Kyle Rhoads

There are thousands of wanted fugitives in Northern Michigan, and it takes a special task force to hunt them down.

The Michigan State Police Fugitive Task Force arrests two to three wanted felons almost every day, but there are some who slip between the cracks.

Kyle Rhoads has been on the run since December.

 “If somebody’s on the run and avoiding the charges and avoiding court, then that is just extending there being a victim,” says Detective Sergeant Kevin Hansz.

Sault Ste. Marie native Kyle Rhoads has been in and out of the system for the past couple of years. His criminal history consists of drug charges, hit-and-run while super drunk with a child in the car and his most recent — child abuse.

 “Kyle has two different cases, he has a case in district court where he faces one count of third-degree child abuse and one count of third-degree child abuse in the presence of another child, and then he has cases in circuit court where he’s already pled guilty to two felony drug cases,” says James Robbinson.

Chippewa County Chief Assistant Prosecutor James Robbinson says a warrant for Kyle’s arrest was issued after he didn’t show up to his preliminary hearing in December.

“His attorney indicated he expected him to appear and he didn’t, and was at a loss explaining his disappearance,” says Robbinson.

The prosecutor says Kyle abused a child he knows under the age of 10 in November.

“In this particular case, the child was in a considerable amount of danger and it’s only because of the alert effort of a border patrol agent at 4 o’clock in the morning that something far worse didn’t happen,” explains Robbinson.

With serious charges on the line, the fugitive team is working around the clock to track down Kyle so justice is served.

“Timeliness is key on this, I think that not only is there a child victim that’s involved, or victims, but there’s also people that are caring for that child who are also having to deal with the aftermath of the child abuse,” says Hansz.

The task force believes Kyle is still in the Sault Ste. Marie area, going from one friend or family’s house to the next.

“His focus right now is just being on the run. He’s not focused or really concerned about what happened or what didn’t happen. Taking flight and avoiding the charges is not the way to go about that,” says Hansz. “I don’t try to make an excuse, or come to the rationalization of why people stay on the run, he has chosen to do that. We are going to find him and hold him accountable for those charges.”

Kyle Rhoads is 22 years old.

Blue eyes, brown hair, five foot six, and weighs 170 pounds.

Once again, he could be in the Sault Ste. Marie area and is on the run for drug charges and third-degree child abuse.

If you know where he is, you’re asked to call the Fugitive Tip Line at 877-445-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 800-773-2587.

Join us next Wednesday on Fox 32 News at 10 for another edition of ‘Wanted’.