NH Attorney: Hard to Believe Couple Was Found at Theme Park

(NECN) – Rockingham, N.H. County Attorney Jim Reams held a press conference outside the Plaistow Police Department Thursday at 2 p.m., concerning the arrests of Jessica Linscott and Roland Dow, the fugitive New Hampshire couple wanted for allegedly abusing Linscott’s 3-year-old son James.

Reams thanked all the law enforcement agencies that responded in this case.

He said the volume of tips, in the hundreds, was huge.

Reams said everyone stepped up to the plate.

He also said Linscott and Dow will make a first appearance Friday in a Florida court where they will face the fugitive from justice charges.

They will either waive extradition and come voluntarily back to New Hampshire or they will exercise their right to be formally extradited.

If that happens, paperwork with the governor’s office will be filed almost immediately to bring them back to New Hampshire.

Either way, the expense to the state is roughly the same to bring them back. The real question is how long will it take to bring them back.

If they waive extradition, it could take a week. Formal extradition would take longer because it is a more cumbersome process.

Given that they fled New Hampshire, Reams said, they will be asking Florida not to grant Linscott or Dow bail. Reams doesn’t expect that to be a problem.

Reams said the public response is the reason officials were able to round the couple up. He also said the Thanksgiving weekend slowed down the process a little, but everyone did work really hard to bring the phase of this case to an end.

This is an ongoing investigation, and Reams said there are many things he cannot comment on at this time, including the evidence.

Reams cannot comment on whether or not the couple received help, but he did say he would prosecute anyone who did such a thing.

He said James remains in serious condition at the hospital, but he is improving.

Reams said they knew the chances of getting the couple were very high, and they were willing to do whatever would be necessary.

He said he’s not surprised how they caught him, but he is surprised at where they caught them.

“Like everybody else, it seemed incongruous that they would end up there, not that they would end up in Florida but that they would end up at a theme park…the fact that they were caught in an amusement park, a theme park, it’s pretty amazing to me. My reaction is like everybody else’s reaction. It’s hard to believe.”

Reams said it could take 30-45 days to bring them back if they fight extradition.

He also said they will be asking for no bail once the couple is back in New Hampshire, and he said it is the law that says fleeing is evidence of guilt.

“And we will be using that.”

The Plaistow Chief of Police spoke, as did a U.S. Marshal.

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