Mo. fugitive caught in Tenn. on traffic charge

ST. LOUIS - A Gasconade County fugitive missing for almost nine years was captured in Tennessee.

The Weakley County Sheriff's Department in Dresden, Tenn., said 62-year-old Israel Schwartz was apprehended there late last week after he appeared in court to answer a traffic charge.

Schwartz had eluded law enforcement since October 1999.

Schwartz was convicted of child abuse in Gasconade County nine years ago, but he didn't show up for sentencing. That started Schwartz's fugitive life, and he was living in Parsons, Tenn., at the time of his arrest.

Schwartz was jailed without bond in Weakley County. Investigator Kim Higgs said Schwartz is fighting extradition back to Missouri.