Shawn Christy's father 'hoping he surrenders himself'

MANSFIELD - Shawn Christy's parents, Craig and Karen, are "just hoping he surrenders himself," Craig told the News Journal on Tuesday.

"We want to find our son as much as anybody else," Craig said. "We want him home safely. We want him cleared. We want him to find a good girl, and we want to have a couple grandkids bouncing on our laps."

Shawn has been on the run since June 20, after an altercation with the mayor of his hometown, McAdoo, Pennsylvania, as well as at least one police officer there. Craig said Shawn believes he was set up.

Law enforcement officers have been searching for Shawn in Richland County since Sunday afternoon. He's believed to have wrecked a stolen pickup on I-71 between the Ohio 13 and 39 exits around 4:45 p.m Sunday.

Officers say Shawn is armed and dangerous, but Craig said his son means no harm.

"Shawn hasn't hurt anybody, and he's not the type to," Craig said. "That would be my call to the people out there with the guns."

But Craig does understand their concern, which is why he wants Shawn — his only child — to take everyone out of harm's way by surrendering.

"You proved your point," Craig wants Shawn to know.

Shawn, 26, grew up an outdoorsman. When he first became wanted, Shawn left his parents' home to spend a week camping, in hopes the situation would diffuse itself. Craig said a visit from law enforcement — they raided the house with a search warrant — made Shawn turn the camping trip into something more.

"It went from something that could have been so controllable, to this," Craig said.

Sometime around June 30, Shawn visited his parents late at night.

"He knocked on the window," Craig said. "He just wanted to check on us."

Shawn told his parents he was going to prove the mayor and the McAdoo police department were setting him up.

"And then he was gone," Christy said. "That was the last time we got to hug him and kiss him."

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Craig said he has since notified the U.S. Marshals, FBI, Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies of his son's location any time he learns of an update. He has received a few messages from his son in the months since, but not much.

Craig is afraid Shawn won't give up until he has enough evidence to stand against the mayor of McAdoo in court.

Shawn has been known to steal food and provisions from homes along his route. Craig said his son broke into a seemingly abandoned trailer in Pennsylvania this summer, only to find it occupied.

"There was an old-timer who lived there," Craig said. "He pointed a gun at Shawn, and Shawn said 'I'm just a bum, I'm just looking for some food.' The guy said 'Get out of here, I don't want any problems.'"

He hopes anyone else who finds his son in their cross hairs will give him a moment to prove he means them no harm.

Craig also hopes people realize the $20,000 reward for information leading to Shawn's arrest isn't a license to kill him.

"We have a lot of good old boys here in Pennsylvania, a lot of hunters," Craig said. "When this started, we had hunters on quad runners going out into the woods thinking there was a bounty on his head."

Shawn's escape has led him to Canada, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and now Ohio.

"He said he was eventually going to go back to his brothers in Canada, because he's part Mohawk," Craig said. "We're a little surprised he's in Ohio... he doesn't have any connections to Ohio."

Where Shawn could be now, Craig could only speculate.

"We don't even know if our son's still there in Ohio," Craig said. "He's done everything from hopped trains to hitch rides. He's creative. He's trained to survive in the woods, and he knows about urban survival as well."

Until they learn more, Craig and Karen and are staying home, hoping for the best.

"We're just hoping for Shawn to turn himself in," Craig said. "We're family, and nothing's too big to get through if you're family."

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

Twitter: @zachtuggle

Full Shawn Christy coverage: Man wanted by FBI sought in area after stolen truck crashes on I-71