A 33-year-old man from Cartersville, Georgia, has been arrested after allegedly swimming across part of Weiss Lake to evade deputies in Alabama.
Eric Carl Virta was being sought on a warrant from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office when deputies went to a campground in Wildwood Cove, near County Road 182, on Tuesday, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
When officers attempted to arrest him, Virta allegedly ran into the lake and crossed to the opposite shore before disappearing into the Kirk’s Grove and Mud Creek area.
Search for Weiss Lake suspect lasted more than an hour
Deputies searched the area for more than an hour before finding Virta hiding in a swampy stretch of ground. He was taken into custody without further incident.
No injuries were reported. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Marine Patrol later transported Virta and the deputies back across the water by boat.
The Floyd County warrant related to an alleged probation violation connected to accusations including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and making terroristic threats and acts.
Virta also faces charges in Cherokee County of being a fugitive from justice and attempting to elude, the sheriff’s office said.
Leesburg Police Department, Cedar Bluff Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency assisted in the operation.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Virta is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty.
