Suspect arrested wearing girls’ stolen clothing
Paroled sex offender accused of stalking two 12-year-olds.
BALDWIN, Mich. (AP) — A paroled sex offender accused of stalking a pair of 12-year-old girls at a campground was arrested after being seen wearing some of their stolen underwear and other garments and could face federal charges, authorities said.
Douglas Lee Lumsden, 46, of Grand Rapids, was being held in the Lake County Jail on a parole violation in lieu of $100,000 bail. He was arrested following a brief police chase.
Federal authorities had not decided whether to charge Lumsden with crimes other than parole violations. He served 10 years in prison after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct and had 10 more years of parole remaining, the Pioneer of Big Rapids reported Friday.
There was no answer Friday to calls placed to a telephone number listed under the same name in Grand Rapids.
The girls were staying in a tent next to their parents’ recreational vehicle at Beaver Pond Campground in Lake County’s Sauble Township on May 28 when they discovered that their tent had been burglarized.
Some clothes were taken and a sex item was left behind, county sheriff’s deputies said.
After the girls’ parents called the sheriff to report the theft, Lumsden returned to the campsite riding what was believed to be a stolen motorcycle and wearing the girls’ clothing
Arriving around the same time was a sheriff’s deputy, who ordered the man to stop. Instead, Lumsden fled on the motorcycle, and the deputy caught him after a chase of about two miles.
Deputies obtained a search warrant for the nearby cabin where Lumsden was staying. Inside, they found more female attire and sex equipment, along with ammunition and another motorcycle, also believed to be stolen.
Investigators also found duct tape and what Sheriff Bob Hilts described as "suspicious lengths of rope." Hilts said Lumsden may have been planning to abduct someone and bind them with the ropes and tape.
Because much of the area where Lumsden was operating lies within the Manistee National Forest, officials said they have left open the possibility of filing federal charges against him.