Deputies arrest Louisiana fugitive

Frank Kircher, 32, wanted on escape charges

A fugitive who allegedly escaped from a Louisiana prison and two people accused of helping his getaway were arrested Wednesday in Flathead County.

Whitefish police detective Lt. Roger Bergstrom said Frank Kircher, 32, is wanted on escape charges from Leesville, La., where he was serving a sentence for drugs and was on a work-release program. The Secret Service was involved in his arrest for a matter unrelated to his escape.

He reportedly has relatives in the valley and has been here for about a month.

He was arrested at the home of a Whitefish woman Wednesday morning, Bergstrom said. He said the 34-year-old woman, unidentified for now, also was taken into custody. Charges are pending against her.

Later in the day, two people sought on warrants for aiding Kirchers escape were arrested near Essex.

The southerners came to law enforcements attention in Whitefish on Oct. 18 when their car caught fire. A volunteer firefighter extinguished it and recorded the vehicles Louisiana license plate. Police found that it came back registered to a fugitive in Louisiana.

Bergstrom and Secret Service officers found Kirchers companions near Essex, where they had hidden the car in a garage. Like Kircher, Joseph Lawrence, 32, and Katherin Sharbeno, 41, were arrested without incident. They were charged with aiding a prisoner in escaping and Lawrence also was charged with a felony probation violation.

Undersheriff Mike Meehan, who also went to Essex, said none of the fugitives is considered to be really violent.

Officers had contact with the men a few weeks ago, after a complaint in the Patrick Creek area. Lawrence was arrested on an old warrant; he later was released on his recognizance. Kircher reportedly gave a false name and was not identified as a fugitive.

The trio is expected to be extradited to Louisiana soon.