'Black Forest Rambo' nabbed in Germany after six-day manhunt
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Police officers at a wooded area near Oppenau in south-western Germany last Monday, a day after Yves Rausch threatened and disarmed officers during an inspection and fled into the forest, sparking a manhunt.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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BERLIN • German police have captured the "Black Forest Rambo" - a heavily armed suspect accused of stealing officers' weapons - after a six-day manhunt.
Yves Rausch, 31, had fled into the forest last Sunday after he managed to disarm four police officers, sparking a huge search operation.
Several hundred officers combed the area with the help of special forces, helicopters, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging cameras for the fugitive, nicknamed "Black Forest Rambo" by the German press after pictures emerged of him dressed in combat gear.
"After several days of searching for Yves Rausch, who had gone underground in the woods around Oppenau, the police succeeded in making a provisional arrest of the 31-year-old," said police in a statement on Friday.
"In connection with this, four firearms were seized," they added.
The drama began on the morning of July 12 when police were informed that a suspicious man was hanging around a hut in the forest near the village of Oppenau in south-western Germany.
Four officers sent to the scene said he cooperated at first when approached. But then he "suddenly and completely unexpectedly" threatened them with a gun and made them put down their own weapons before running away with the officers' firearms.
He was also believed to be carrying a bow and arrow and a knife.
Last Tuesday, Oppenau prosecutor Herwig Schaefer described Rausch as a "weapons freak" with a "great affinity for arms".
Rausch has a long criminal record, including charges related to the possession of illegal weapons, theft and bodily injury. He received a juvenile sentence of 31/2 years in 2010 after he shot a female friend with a crossbow, seriously injuring her.
Police also found child pornography on his mobile phone while investigating him for the possession of explosives last year.
Schools, kindergartens and the local swimming pool were closed last Monday as a precaution.
Rausch has been homeless since autumn last year and had been squatting in the hut where he was spotted a week ago.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
