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Pearisburg, VA - A day of terror for one
South Carolina family came to a happy ending Monday night when a U.S.
Marshals Task Force, assisted by the Virginia State Police, the Giles County
Sheriff’s Office and the Pearisburg Police Department apprehended Robert
William Custer, 45, at 905 Bales Road in Pearisburg. Custer was arrested
without incident shortly after 6 pm, even though he was considered to be
armed and extremely dangerous after abducting his estranged wife and their 4
year old son in Lexington, South Carolina earlier today. Before fleeing
South Carolina, Custer locked his former wife in a gas station bathroom off
of Piney Grove Road in Columbia, and continued traveling to Virginia with
the 4 year old victim. Custer, who had joint custody of the boy with his
ex-wife, had violated his custodial rights according to South Carolina
authorities who issued warrants for his arrest for kidnapping the boy.
The U.S. Marshals Task Force in Columbia
developed information that Custer was fleeing to Virginia and contacted
their counterparts in Roanoke for assistance. The investigation revealed
that Custer and his son were located at a mobile home in Pearisburg and
officers from the above jurisdictions surrounded the home and arrested
Custer. The boy was released to the custody of Social Services until
arrangements can be made to reunite him with his mother.
Custer was incarcerated in the New River
Valley Regional Jail on state charges for being a fugitive from justice from
South Carolina on one count of kidnapping. Additional charges may be filed
as the investigation in both Virginia and South Carolina is continuing.
More on the U.S. Marshals Service and the
historic Western District of Virginia can be found on the internet at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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