New Hampshire man returning home to face charge in child runway case

A New Hampshire man accused of fleeing with an underage girl agreed Thursday to be extradited without a hearing from Pennsylvania to his home state to face a felony charge.

Daniel Strong, 23, and his girlfriend, Alissa Gerard, 17, ran away together on Sept. 9.

The girl was described as missing by the Rochester Police Department in New Hampshire, which sought information about her whereabouts via local media.

Relying on a tip from someone who saw that report, local law enforcement found the pair in the Walmart parking lot along North Center Avenue in Somerset Township on Sept. 28.

Strong, who was found sleeping in the driver’s seat of a red Volkswagen Jetta, was taken into custody as a fugitive based on the New Hampshire arrest warrant.

He was arraigned and placed in the Somerset County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond to await an extradition hearing.

The teenager was found awake in the front passenger’s seat. She was placed with Somerset County Children & Youth Services based on her “runaway” status.

Strong’s arrest warrant was based on a felony offense of interfering with the custody of a child.

After a person is detained on a warrant, the law requires that the individual be brought before a judge or magistrate as soon as possible for a hearing to advise the accused of the charges against him or her, to determine if the accused is in fact the person charged and to set bail, if appropriate.

At that point the individual can challenge the extradition or waive that right.

The Constitution generally requires states to cooperate with each other in turning over prisoners who have warrants in other jurisdictions.

Somerset County Judge D. Gregory Geary told Strong Thursday that if the authorities from New Hampshire do not come and pick him up within a month of his arrest, he will be free to go.

A state law sets the time period and allows judges to recommit a detainee after the 30 days is up to 60 more days.