Wanted New Hampshire Man Arrested in California

NEWPORT, N.H. -- Federal authorities in California arrested on Tuesday a missing radio host -- wanted in New Hampshire on child porn charges -- three days after authorities found his daughter in a Florida theme park.

The U.S. Marshals Nevada Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST), joined by state and local authorities from Nevada and California, stopped Aaron Aldridge on Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, Calif., about 20 miles from the Nevada border. He was driving his 1995 Chevrolet Lumina with New Hampshire license plates, according to Newport police.

According to authorities in California, Aldridge seemed to be in fair spirits.

Newport police developed information Tuesday that Aldridge was passing through Las Vegas, at which point, federal authorities contacted for assistance spotted his car in Nevada on I-15 about 5 miles north of the California state line. Federal authorities said Aldridge had first refused to pull over but officers arrested him and kept him in custody in California pending extradition to New Hampshire.

Police said it's likely Aldridge will face more charges when he returns to New Hampshire, but for now, police are just glad they were able to apprehend him.

"Working with all the departments we did today, the phone and computer connection we had with them to include the U.S. Marshal's service has been nothing less than outstanding. Without their assistance, without their cooperation, we would've never been able to apprehend Mr. Aldridge so quickly," Newport Police Chief David Hoyt said Tuesday evening.

Aldridge, 42, is wanted on an arrest warrant in Newport for production and possession of child pornography, and he will be charged as a fugitive from justice. Newport police said the child pornography was in the form of printed pictures and videos on a computer disk. Authorities said they seized a computer and other evidence.

He is originally from California but has lived in New Hampshire for more than a decade. Police said most of his family moved to the state, as well.

Authorities said Aldridge left his Newport home on April 13 with his 19-year-old daughter, Amanda, who was found abandoned in Walt Disney World, authorities said. Amanda Aldridge has since been reunited with her family in Newport.

Investigators said that following Aldridge's disappearance, pictures found in his home prompted police to get an arrest warrant for him last Wednesday.

Aldridge is a radio host for WNTK and was previously a police officer in Newport from 1999 until 2004.

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