Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader has provided new details about Tuesday’s daylong search for a New York fugitive, including how the suspect came to Chattooga County, the involvement of federal investigators and the telephone conversation that ultimately led to his surrender.

Tavion Young was wanted on a federal warrant out of New York involving alleged crimes against children, including child pornography allegations.

According to Sheriff Schrader, Young had been staying at Handmaid Blessings, a Christian nonprofit residential recovery program located on Mitchell Circle off Gore-Subligna Road in the Subligna area of Chattooga County.

Schrader said Young found the organization online while still in New York and contacted the ministry seeking assistance through its recovery program. Young subsequently traveled to Chattooga County and had been staying at the facility.

While Young was in Chattooga County, federal authorities obtained an arrest warrant in connection with the investigation in New York.

The FBI tracked Young to Chattooga County and contacted the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for assistance. Schrader said his department worked with federal investigators for several days before law enforcement attempted to take Young into custody Tuesday.

When officers attempted to apprehend Young, he fled, setting off an extensive search in the Gore area.

Schrader said Young was unfamiliar with the area, and law enforcement officers from several agencies spent much of Tuesday searching for him.

As the search continued, Schrader was able to obtain a telephone number for Young through Handmaid Blessings, the nonprofit organization where he had been staying.

The sheriff personally contacted Young by telephone and spoke with him about surrendering to authorities.

According to Schrader, Young agreed to surrender, bringing the search to an end Tuesday evening.

The sheriff said the operation involved extensive cooperation among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

In addition to the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office and FBI, participating agencies included the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, the Floyd County Police Department and the Rome Police Department K-9 Unit.

The Walker County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office drone unit, and the Georgia State Patrol also assisted in the operation.

Following his surrender, Young was taken into custody and transported to the Floyd County Jail, where he was housed in connection with the federal case.

The sheriff’s account also sheds light on how Young came to be in the Subligna community. He had contacted Handmaid Blessings seeking help through its Christian recovery program before authorities attempted to apprehend him.

The organization cooperated with the sheriff by providing Young’s telephone number, which allowed Schrader to make direct contact and arrange his surrender.

The arrest brought an end to a search that involved numerous law enforcement agencies and followed several days of coordination between the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office and federal investigators.

Young remains accused in the federal investigation and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.