A former Shalimar, Fla.-area tennis coach on the run from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office since 2007 on charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor has been tracked down in Massachusetts and is behind bars awaiting extradition, the OCSO announced Friday.
U.S. Marshals with the Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force took 70-year-old Mark Steven Burns into custody after U.S. Marshals with the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force submitted a tip.He was found working in a deli with the 12 Tribes Cult in Plymouth, Mass., and is being held in Plymouth County, Mass., awaiting extradition, the OCSO said.
Burns is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl between March 2006 and March 2007, the OCSO said. According to authorities, Burns admitted the relationship to the girl’s mother in March 2007, saying he wanted to marry her. The girl’s parents immediately contacted law enforcement.
When OCSO investigators went to Burns’ home on 7th Avenue on March 15, 2007, he was already gone and had been on the run ever since while investigators continued the search for him, authorities said.Download the FOX10 Weather App. Get life-saving severe weather warnings and alerts for your location no matter where you are. Available free in the