Hopatcong kids found safe in Florida, dad in jail

HOPATCONG – A man who disappeared with his two sons more than a month ago was found with the boys in Florida sharing a hotel room with a man wanted on rape and sexual exploitation of a minor charges.

"Kristopher Dohm has been found with his children," said Lt. Thomas Kmetz, a police department spokesman. "Around 10:30 p.m. (Wednesday) night Pasco County Sheriff's Office in Florida notified us that they located Dohm and the children in the Royal Palm Inn in New Port Richey, Florida."

Dohm, who had a shared custody agreement, failed to return the boys to their mother on Feb. 9, setting off a nationwide search.

Kmetz said early Thursday that the boy's mother was on her way to Florida to bring the boys home.

Pasco County Sherriff's Office Public Information Officer Eddie Daniels confirmed Pasco County Sheriff's Office detectives assisted the U.S. Marshals Service and New Port Richey Police in arresting Dohm at the Royal Palm Inn at about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Dohm is currently in the Land O Lakes Jail in Florida, Daniels said. He is being held without bail.

Dohm was wanted on a federal fugitive of justice warrant for kidnapping and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Daniels said.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Adam Wilkinson said the children were in good health and shape when they were found, and Dohm made no attempt to flee the scene.

Found in the same Royal Palm room as Dohm was Edward Tarras Jr., who was arrested by New Port Richey Police and is also in the Land O Lakes Jail.

Tarras was one of Tennessee's Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, wanted by the Smyrna Police Department on charges for rape, 19 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of sexual battery, and sexual exploitation of a minor over 100 times.

Dohm and Tarras happened to know each other and may have planned to meet up in Florida together, but Tarras was not believed to be involved in the kidnapping of the two boys, Daniels said.

Tarras was a Morris County CrimeStopper of the Week in January, listed as an alleged sex offender.

Tarras cut off his tracking bracelet and fled Tennessee in August 2014, and was believed to be in the Morris County area because he has relatives here.

Local, state and federal authorities have spent the last month looking for 8-year-old Parker Dohm and 7-year-old Jaxon Dohm, since they allegedly were abducted by their father in early February.

Earlier this month, Sandra Dohm and members of the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office held a press conference to ask for the public's help in finding the boys.

"My boys were taken away from me by their father," Sandra Hughes Dohm said at the time, her voice shaking with emotion. "I have not seen them since Feb. 3, 2015, and I have not spoken to them since Feb. 5."

Kristopher Dohm was originally supposed to return the boys to their mother in their Hopatcong home on Feb. 6, but asked for an extension of the visitation to take them to Nevada to see his dying father.

Sandra Dohm said she divorced her husband in 2012, and they had previously shared joint custody without incident.

"The boys had a good relationship with their father," Sandra Dohm said.

But when her ex-husband did not return the boys on Feb. 9, she notified the Hopatcong Police Department.

The police alerted the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, which immediately launched a joint investigation that grew to include State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Service, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Middle Atlantic-Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network.

The state police also issued an alert on their Facebook page, including photos of the boys and their father, along with altered photos showing all three with shaved heads because authorities believe the father may have done that to alter their appearance.

Sandra Dohm also launched a Facebook page, "Help Find Parker and Jaxon Dohm," which received more than 9,500 likes. Public events such as a prayer vigil at Ledgewood Baptist Church on March 7 were organized to help rally more people to the cause.

Kristopher Dohm was charged in New Jersey on Feb. 10 with second-degree interference of custody, at which point Koch authorized a search with a "nationwide extradition radius."

On Feb. 20, a federal warrant for Kristopher Dohm was issued for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@dailyrecord.com