Caught: Facebook fugitive arrested in Port Angeles

The so-called Facebook fugitive who updated his status on the run has been arrested by the Port Angeles Police Department.

Police received a tip from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office that wanted felon Travis Nicolaysen was hiding out at a friend’s house in the 500 block of east 12th street.

“We received quite a few tips about possible locations that he was at,” said Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith. “One of the benefits to a lot of publicity in a case like this involving a fugitive is that at least some people are paying attention.”

Smith said it appeared Nicolaysen had been living in the basement of the residence, and it took several minutes for authorities to coax him out Monday afternoon.

He was booked into the Clallam County Jail for outstanding felony warrants, but not before his run from the law received international attention.

“People who are fugitives use some means to communicate normally. The unique thing about this was it was social media and it was done in a way that 800 million Facebook users could see and read it,” Smith said.

Nicolaysen’s Facebook page had few privacy settings, which meant police took note when he updated his relationship status from “in a relationship” to “single.” At one point a friend wrote “Cops all over you,” to which Nicolaysen responded, “ya got away thanks bro.”

Nicolaysen, a convicted felon, became wanted after he failed to check in with his court-appointed community corrections officer. He will now face addition charges for obstruction of justice.