Former minister and fugitive Victor Barnard of Pine County, Minn., the subject of a multi-state manhunt, was allegedly spotted leaving the McDonalds restaurant in Raymond earlier Wednesday, the State Patrol said. Barnard is wanted on 59 counts of sexual molestation.
He was seen driving a dark blue Audi two-door with tinted windows and a spoiler and was reportedly headed north on Highway 101 toward Aberdeen, the State Patrol said. A female was reportedly riding with him.
The manhunt for Barnard began when the Pine County Attorney’s office issued a criminal complaint against Barnard. The charges resulted from a multi-year investigation by the Pine County Sheriff’s Office into Barnard’s behavior while he was ministering a religious group called the River Road Fellowship in Finlayson, according State Patrol and the Minneapolis Star Tribune said.
According to the Star Tribune, Barnard is accused of being a cult leader who kept a group of girls and young women, whom he allegedly called “The Maidens,” as concubines.
Two young women stepped forward to accuse Barnard of sexually abusing them for years, beginning when they were 12 and 13 years old, according to the newspaper.
Barnard was last known to be in the Spokane area. The Pine County Sheriff’s Office is working with state authorities and the Department Homeland Security for the apprehension of Barnard, the State Patrol said.
Anyone with information about Barnard’s whereabouts should call 9v11.
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