The hunt continued Monday for Sabah Al-Talaqani, with additional information coming from the Ottawa County Prosecutor.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Al-Talaqani, who failed to appear in court after posting $500,000 cash bail on rape and other charges.

The search for Al-Talaqani includes assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, due to the possibility of him fleeing the country.

“There is no evidence to suggest this, but he lives in Detroit. Given the proximity to the Canadian border, as well as the fact that the warrant is national in scope, any time a person fails to show up for trial, essentially becoming a fugitive, a possibility (an intention) may be to get out of the United States, otherwise it would not be this warrant,” said Ottawa County Prosecutor James Vaneerten.

“Customs and Border Patrol have additional investigative capabilities, beyond what we have, and given the proximity across the river (Detroit) and Canada, to his home address, we “We’re obviously at least slightly concerned about that,” he said.

Vaneerten confirmed that Al-Talaqani is a US citizen, having been born in the Seattle area.

Al-Talaqani received GPS monitoring after posting bail.

“A report of tampering was received by the court, at which point we began searching for him and discovered that he was not at his residence and had in fact turned off the device,” a Vaneerten said. “We work with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive and Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ottawa County Major Crimes Unit as well as the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, all of which are agencies helping to find Mr. Al-Talaqani.

Al-Talaqani, 27, was charged with rape, kidnapping, felonious assault and failure to appear for a jury trial related to an incident that occurred on South Bass Island on July 21, 2023. It is unclear where he is located, but his last known address is in Detroit. .

“Just over a year ago, Mr. Talaqani was visiting South Bass Island, where he met a woman, and returned to her home, where he allegedly violently raped her, using a knife and then allegedly left the scene,” Vaneerten said. said previously.

According to Vaneerten, Al-Talaqani has known connections in Michigan, Washington state, Ohio, Florida and Georgia.

“We are still working on a few avenues, but at this point nothing has worked,” Vaneerten said Monday.

Anyone with information on Al-Talaqani’s location is asked to call the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office at 419-734-4404 or the Ottawa County Prosecutor’s Office at 419-734-6845 . Tips can also be emailed to [email protected]. The identity of anyone providing information will remain anonymous.

[email protected]

419-332-2674

This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Search for accused rapist includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection.