Dalton Michael Pflaumer

Stolen Church Van

     An Elizabeth man, 18 year old DALTON MICHAEL PFLAUMER, has been arrested and incarcerated in the Baxter County Detention Center on felony charges related to the burglary of a private residence, vehicle thefts, and other thefts.

     The events leading up to the arrest of DALTON PFLAUMER came about in the early hours of July 11th, when the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office was notified that officers in Sharp County, Arkansas had been involved in a vehicle pursuit with a 2001 Volvo V10.  A suspect was apprehended following that pursuit.  It was determined that the registered owners of the vehicle involved in that pursuit reside in the St. Louis, Missouri area but have a vacation home in Baxter County on Diamond Bay Road.  The registered owners were contacted and stated that their vehicle should still be parked at their residence on Diamond Bay Road, indicating that had not been at that residence since July 5th. 

     Later in the morning of July 11th, Sheriff’s Corporal Kristofer Savino went to the residence on Diamond Bay Road and found that it had been burglarized.    Items missing from the residence, in addition to their 2001 Volvo V10, were a handgun and a shotgun.  It appeared that persons had been squatting in the residence for a period of time.  Entry had been made through the back door of the house. 

     The suspect who had been apprehended in Sharp County told authorities there that he and another person had stolen a white van belonging to the First Baptist church in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas, which is in Izard County.  That suspect indicated he and the other person (later identified as DALTON PFLAUMER) had traveled in the stolen church van to the Hand Cove area in Baxter County.  They had concealed the stolen van in a heavily wooded area approximately one mile away from the residence they chose to burglarize. 

     DALTON PFLAUMER and the other suspect parted company in the Brockwell area of Izard County after leaving the residence in the stolen 2001 Volvo.  The vehicle pursuit occurred sometime afterwards.

     The Sheriff’s Office utilized its helicopter on the evening of July 11th to fly over the Hand Cove/Diamond Bay area in an attempt to locate the stolen and abandoned church van.  After flying over the area for several minutes, the van was spotted from the air through dense foliage.  The van was subsequently towed and removed for evidentiary processing.

     In addition to the burglary investigation that began on July 11th, the Sheriff’s Office had taken reports the previous day, July 10th, that a private boat dock near Baxter CR 863 in the same area had been entered and several items stolen from the dock and from boats in the dock.  These included speakers, binoculars, and fishing equipment.  A cell phone was found on one of the boats.  This cell phone was found to belong to DALTON PFLAUMER. 

     PFLAUMER was located on July 12th and interviewed at the Sheriff’s Office. PFLAUMER admitted to committing the crimes with the other suspect, and he helped investigators locate and recover some of the stolen items.

     DALTON MICHAEL PFLAUMER was taken to the Detention Center following the interview and has been incarcerated on charges of:

Residential Burglary – Felony
Breaking or Entering – Felony
Theft of Property (3 counts) – Felonies
Theft by Receiving – Felony

     He remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 bond. PFLAUMER is scheduled to appear Thursday, July 14th, before the Baxter County Circuit Court to answer.

     The second suspect will also face the same charges once he is available for pick-up from Sharp County.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff