Sex Offender Held in Stabbing Death of Yuba City Boy
Police said Monday that a paroled sex offender is being held in connection with the stabbing death of an 8-year-old boy who was abducted walking home from school.
Robert Boyd Rhoades, 43, was taken into custody by a Sutter County sheriff’s river patrol unit near the suspected crime scene on the Feather River. He was questioned and detained shortly after Michael Lyons’ body was found Friday, a day after the youngster’s disappearance.
On Monday, Police Chief Richard Doscher announced that Rhoades, a resident of Sutter, was a suspect in the case. Authorities said Rhoades was a convicted sex offender and was being held on a parole violation pending further charges.
“We’re in the process right now of evaluating items of evidence,” Doscher said. He declined to elaborate.
Michael disappeared Thursday afternoon on his way home from Bridge Street school. When his worried family hadn’t seen him by 5 p.m., Yuba City Police launched a full-scale search.
His body was found in a riverbed about 2 1/2 miles from the school.
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