An Upstate man’s six-year ‘run from the law’ is over after his arrest this week, according to the US Marshals. John Tufton Blauvelt, 33, was taken into custody in Medford, Oregon, on Wednesday by US Marshals and Medford police following a lead provided by a cold case team of investigators at the agency’s headquarters. US Marshals announced. US Marshals said Blauvelt was wanted for the killing of his estranged wife, Catherine “Cati” Blauvelt, who was found stabbed to death in an abandoned home in Simpsonville on Oct. 24, 2016. She was 22. Cati had been reported missing by her family the previous day after failing to meet with her friends after work. She was last seen leaving her place of work, a Greenville pet store, at approximately 2:15 pm on Oct. 23, 2016. On Nov. 18, 2016, Simpsonville police obtained warrants for Blauvelt’s arrest for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Blauvelt, who worked as a US Army recruiter in Greenville County at the time of the murder, but was classified by the Army as a deserter shortly thereafter, fled the area just after the murder with his 17-year-old girlfriend Hannah Thompson, of Fountain Inn, according to US Marshals. They said Blauvelt had last been seen in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Nov. 15, 2016, traveling with a female passenger police said they believe was Thompson. Thompson’s parents reported the missing teen to the Fountain Inn Police Department on Nov. 21, 2016. After the US Marshals joined the search to find Blauvelt, they said they learned he and Thompson had traveled through Alabama, Texas and California. Thompson was found safe in Oregon on Dec. 12, 2016. Authorities said she went to a family friend’s home in Eugene and called her parents, saying she wanted to come home. The case was aired on ‘In Pursuit’ with John Walsh in 2019. In early 2022, a US Marshals said it dedicated cold and complex case investigative team, composed of various USMS components, joined the investigation for Blauvelt. They said working closely with investigators from the District of South Carolina, the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, as well as Simpsonville detectives, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the US Army Criminal Investigation Division, the team was able to put Blauvelt in Medford, Oregon , and sent a collateral lead to the District of Oregon. US Marshals said investigators in Oregon, working with the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, located Blauvelt, who had assumed the alias “Ben Klein,” and took him into custody .Blauvelt is being held in Jackson County Jail pending extradition to South Carolina to face the charges against him.”This arrest represents a tremendous amount of cooperation among numerous agencies dedicated to seeking justice for a victim of a heinous crime six years ago,” said Heather Walker-Wright, assistant director of the USMS Investigative Operations Division. “I want to commend the investigators and Deputy US Marshals in South Carolina, Oregon and here at headquarters, as well as our partner agencies, who worked so tirelessly to get John Blauvelt into custody.” Acting US Marshal for the District of South Carolina Karen Thomas said, “The US Marshals Service dedication to duty, pursuit of justice, and relentless team effort across the nation led to the capture of a violent fugitive.”“I hope that the arrest of John Blauvelt brings Cati’s family some relief from the situation that they have had to endure the past few years,” said Simpsonville Police Chief Mike Henshaw. “I want to thank the US Marshals Service and all the various agencies that assisted in making this arrest possible. The team effort by law enforcement is to be commanded.”
SIMPSONVILLE, SC —
An Upstate man’s six-year ‘run from the law’ is over after his arrest this week, according to the US Marshals.
John Tufton Blauvelt, 33, was taken into custody in Medford, Oregon, on Wednesday by US Marshals and Medford police following a lead provided by a cold case team of investigators at the agency’s headquarters. U.S. Marshals announced.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
US Marshals said Blauvelt was wanted for the killing of his estranged wife, Catherine “Cati” Blauvelt, who was found stabbed to death in an abandoned home in Simpsonville on Oct. 24, 2016. She was 22.
Cati had been reported missing by her family the previous day after failing to meet with her friends after work. She was last seen leaving her place of work, a Greenville pet store, at approximately 2:15 pm on Oct. 23, 2016.
On Nov. 18, 2016, Simpsonville police obtained warrants for Blauvelt’s arrest for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Blauvelt, who worked as a US Army recruiter in Greenville County at the time of the murder, but was classified by the Army as a deserter shortly thereafter, fled the area just after the murder with his 17-year-old girlfriend Hannah Thompson, of Fountain Inn, according to US Marshals.
They said Blauvelt had last been seen in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Nov. 15, 2016, traveling with a female passenger police said they believe was Thompson.
Thompson’s parents reported the teen missing to the Fountain Inn Police Department on Nov. 21, 2016.
After the US Marshals joined the search to find Blauvelt, they said they learned he and Thompson had traveled through Alabama, Texas and California.
Thompson was found safe in Oregon on Dec. 12, 2016.
Authorities said she went to a family friend’s home in Eugene and called her parents, saying she wanted to come home.
The case was aired on ‘In Pursuit’ with John Walsh in 2019.
In early 2022, a US Marshals said it dedicated cold and complex case investigative team, composed of various USMS components, joined the investigation for Blauvelt.
They said working closely with investigators from the District of South Carolina, the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, as well as Simpsonville detectives, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the US Army Criminal Investigation Division, the team was able to put Blauvelt in Medford, Oregon , and sent a collateral lead to the District of Oregon.
US Marshals said investigators in Oregon, working with the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, located Blauvelt, who had assumed the alias “Ben Klein,” and took him into custody.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
Blauvelt is being held in Jackson County Jail pending extradition to South Carolina to face the charges against him.
“This arrest represents a tremendous amount of cooperation among numerous agencies dedicated to seeking justice for a victim of a heinous crime six years ago,” said Heather Walker-Wright, assistant director of the USMS Investigative Operations Division. “I want to commend the investigators and Deputy US Marshals in South Carolina, Oregon and here at headquarters, as well as our partner agencies, who worked so tirelessly to get John Blauvelt into custody.”
Acting US Marshal for the District of South Carolina Karen Thomas said, “The US Marshals Service dedication to duty, pursuit of justice, and relentless team effort across the nation led to the capture of a violent fugitive.”
“I hope that the arrest of John Blauvelt will bring Cati’s family some relief from the situation that they have had to endure the past few years,” said Simpsonville Police Chief Mike Henshaw. “I want to thank the US Marshals Service and all the various agencies that assisted in making this arrest possible. The team effort by law enforcement is to be commanded.”
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