Accused Child Molester Captured In Florida As He Tries To Flee U.S.

Tahlequah Police said a suspected child molester was arrested in Florida, right before he skipped the country for good.

They will now work to bring Roxie Wagers back to Green Country to face his charges.

The detective said four victims were involved and that Wagers knew the families of the girls, befriended them and molested them.

The 10 charges against him involve one girl, who said the molestation started in 2006 when she was nine and continued until last year.

Tahlequah police said when they got a warrant for Wagers last fall, he skipped town.

With the help of U.S. Marshals, they tracked him to Florida and got a warrant to freeze his bank accounts so he couldn't leave the country.

They said on New Year's Eve Wagers bought an airline ticket on for Bogota, Colombia, just hours before the state department flagged his passport.

Wagers didn't make that flight, and authorities believe he was trying to get passage on a boat to take him to Jamaica.

He had $4,000 and a cell phone on him when he was caught.

Reporter: "He was clearly close to skipping the country when you caught him?"

Det. Thomas Donnell, Tahlequah Police Dept: "Very close, very close."

Court documents say Wagers bought bras and panties for the victims and had them model for him.

They say he touched her and touched himself in front of her several times over a period of years.

"He told (the victim that) in other countries, this is talked about, it's how people show their appreciation," Donnell said. "They told me he told them society is the one who's made this bad for people."

He said once Wagers realized one of the girls told their parents and they'd gone to police, he tried to bribe the family, offering them $17,000.

But, what he didn't know, is the family was secretly recording those phone calls.

Donnell said those tapes make this an open-and-shut case.

"It's their words, they're convicting themselves," Donnell said of alleged criminals. "When you say on tape, they know they've done bad, done wrong, gonna get help, let's keep it between us, it's priceless."

Donnell hasn't heard yet whether Wagers plans to fight extradition from Florida back to Cherokee County.

But, Donnell added, he can't wait to see the look on Wagers' face when he's taken into custody at the airport.