A second-degree murder warrant has been issued for a Colorado sex offender accused of stabbing his 12-year-old daughter and leaving her for dead in the Idaho wilderness.
The girl was upgraded from critical to serious condition Friday and is expected to recover in a Spokane, Wash., hospital for several weeks.
Authorities say John Rollins Tuggle, 37, stabbed the girl at least five times all over her body Wednesday afternoon.
Tuggle picked up his daughter because he had not seen her for 10 years. He had been locked up in an Idaho prison because he was convicted in the statutory rape of a 14-year-old female relative in 1994.
He told his ex-wife that he was taking the girl to a mall, according to the Shoshone County sheriff. Idaho authorities say he instead took the girl to a remote area and stabbed her.
A family visiting a nearby campsite heard the girl’s cries for help and called police.
The FBI has joined with authorities in Idaho and Colorado in the manhunt for Tuggle, who will be held on $10 million bail when captured.
Tuggle last lived in Hayden in Routt County with his brother.
Routt County Sheriff John Warner said Tuggle had complied with the rules of his sex-offender registration while in Colorado.
Tuggle was last seen driving a red Ford Escort with Colorado license plate 329 JXG.
