The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and multiple law enforcement agencies including United States Marshals, the Central Point Police Department and the Medford Police Department, as part of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, tracked down and arrested a South Carolina murder suspect in Medford Wednesday afternoon, putting an end to the man’s six-year run from the law.
U.S. Marshals along with Central Point Police Department arrested the fugitive, identified as 33 year old John Tufton Blauvelt, following a lead provided by a cold case team of investigators at the U.S. Marshal’s headquarters in Arlington, Va.
Blauvelt was wanted in connection with the murder of his estranged wife, Catherine “Cati” Blauvelt, who was found stabbed to death in an abandoned home in Simpsonville, S.C., on October 26th, 2016. Cati had been reported missing by her family the previous day after failing to meet with her friends after work. On Nov. 18th, 2016, Simpsonville Police obtained warrants for Blauvelt’s arrest for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Blauvelt, who worked as a U.S. Army recruiter in Greenville County at the time of the murder, was classified by the Army as a deserter shortly thereafter and fled the area with his 17 year old girlfriend. Thompson’s parents reported the teen missing to the Fountain Inn Police Department on Nov. 21st, 2016. Blauvelt had last been seen in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Nov. 15th, 2016, traveling with a female passenger police said they believe was Thompson.
After the U.S. Marshals joined the search to find Blauvelt, they learned he and Thompson had traveled through Alabama, Texas and California. Thompson was found safe in Oregon on Dec. 12th, 2016, having been abandoned by Blauvelt. She went to a family friend’s home in Eugene and called her parents, saying she wanted to come home. She and Blauvelt had been homeless while in Oregon.
In early 2022, a U.S. Marshals dedicated cold and complex case investigative team joined the investigation for Blauvelt. Working closely with investigators from the District of South Carolina, the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, as well as Simpsonville Police detectives and the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the team was able to put Blauvelt in Medford.
The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force committed numerous personnel and hours to the investigation, ultimately working with the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, to locate Blauvelt, who had assumed the alias “Ben Klein,” and took him into custody without incident.
33 year old John Tufton Blauvelt is being held in the Jackson County Jail pending extradition to South Carolina to face the charges against him.
