A Baxter County man has been arrested in mid-Missouri, apparently trying to flee, after a warrant was issued for his arrest on child porn charges involving a teenage family member. Law enforcement arrested 49-year-old Uhlan Esel Woods of Gassville Thursday afternoon near Rolla in Phelps County.
The probable cause affidavit in the case says law enforcement in Baxter County issued a “BOLO” or Be On the Look Out for Woods Wednesday night after his wife called to say they had a fight that morning about images she found on his phone. When she returned home that night after work, Woods was gone, along with a gun and his two grandchildren, ages three and one.
A deputy with the sheriff’s office made contact with Woods, trying to talk him into dropping the two toddlers off safely. Woods told law enforcement he was taking them to Iowa to another family member’s home.
Woods did not have the toddlers with him at the time of his arrest, and law enforcement learned he had dropped them off to another family member in the Gamaliel area before fleeing.
The U.S. Marshal’s Service was involved in the search for Woods, and local law enforcement say they were tracking his vehicle which assisted in his arrest.
The original incident started Wednesday morning when Woods’ wife answered his phone because he was not in the house and noticed an app on his phone. The app, TextFree, allows users to use a second number for texting or calling. When she opened the app, she saw messages and photos from the teenage victim. Messages in the app allegedly directed the victim to send nude photos or she would “be in trouble.” The victim said she got another message saying if she didn’t send the photos, which were directed to an 1-800 number, he would “ruin her life.”
Woods is charged with engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium, a class Y felony, the most serious crime in Arkansas not punishable by the death penalty. He is also charged with a felony count of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. Once he is returned to Baxter County, Woods’ bond will be set at $75,000.
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