Alaska State Troopers say they’ve arrested a Fairbanks man connected to an AMBER alert sent Wednesday night for a missing teenage girl.
Troopers say they were already searching for 51-year-old Steven Narron for a felony probation violation on Wednesday. Then, investigators linked him to the disappearance of 15-year-old Alexis Bane, who’d last been seen in Fairbanks on Sunday.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said troopers determined Narron was with Bane in Anchorage, and found his vehicle abandoned in a local park Wednesday night.
“Troopers now had enough to believe that Alexis was in an imminent threat of serious injury or death, and they then activated the Alaska AMBER alert system at approximately 5:24 p.m,” McDaniel said.
Early Thursday morning, an Alaskan called in a Report Every Dangerous Driver Immediately (REDDI) report about a driver on Kalifornsky Road in Soldotna. McDaniel says troopers pursued the vehicle, a white Ford SUV, after the driver refused to stop.
“After approximately 3.5 miles, troopers eventually stopped the vehicle using spike strips in the Kasilof area of the Sterling Highway,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel says the driver turned out to be Narron, who troopers recognized from the AMBER Alert. Bane was also in the SUV, and she’s now safe, troopers say. Narron was arrested for his active felony probation violation warrant, eluding officers, first degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, and driving under the influence.
While troopers initially said that Narran was believed to be armed and dangerous, McDaniel says he’s unsure if Narron had a weapon with him when he was arrested.
Troopers are still investigating the incident surrounding Bane’s disappearance and officials say more charges are likely to come. Narron was placed into custody at Wildwood Correctional Center in Kenai.
The AMBER Alert sent out Wednesday night was the first in Alaska since Nov. 2017.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
