Lewiston police find 4-year fugitive in Virginia

LEWISTON – A woman accused of embezzling more than $160,000 from a Lewiston insurance company has been arrested in Virginia after nearly four years as a fugitive.

Jacqueline Lizotte-McLaughlin, 55, was arrested by Virginia Beach police on Sunday after an investigation into a case that did not involve her.

The U.S. Marshals Service considered Lizotte-McLaughlin to be a fugitive from justice because she was wanted for theft.

Lewiston police and other agencies have been looking for Lizotte-McLaughlin since May 2001 when she failed to show up in court to answer charges that she allegedly stole $162,000 from Roux Insurance Services.

At the time of her disappearance, her husband told police that she told him she was going on a business trip and then never returned.

Lewiston police said they have been in touch with her family regularly, checking into sightings from time to time.

Last May, federal agents were on the lookout in Charlotte, N.C., because they had heard Lizotte-McLaughlin was a big fan of NASCAR events.

Marshals staked out the Coca-Cola 600, searching unsuccessfully for the 4-foot-11, 130-pound fugitive among more than 180,000 fans.

Virginia Beach Detective David Vanderwerf said he approached Lizotte-McLaughlin asking for routine information about another person suspected in a minor theft.

When he asked Lizotte-McLaughlin for her date of birth and ran the information on a police computer database, he was alerted that she was wanted for a felony and for being on the run.

The detective said Lizotte-McLaughlin did not own a car but was using accurate information to pay for her utilities.

“She told me she’s been looking over her shoulder for four years,” Vanderwerf said. “In a way, I think she was glad it’s over.”

Lizotte-McLaughlin is expected to be returned to Maine to stand trial on the theft from Roux Insurance.