The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States has announced that a man suspected of kidnapping and killing a 5-year-old girl in Philadelphia 25 years ago has been captured in Honduras. This fugitive suspect, who has been on the FBI’s most wanted list for many years, is now in custody.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated on Thursday (February 12) on the social media platform X, “This individual is connected to the murder of a 5-year-old child in the year 2000 and has been on the run for over 20 years. Thanks to the outstanding cooperation of our partners, the FBI Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force in Honduras apprehended him.”
“Just a few weeks ago, @FBI captured the sixth fugitive from our ‘Top Ten Most Wanted’ list within a year,” Patel continued, adding, “This administration and our team are working tirelessly to make America safe again and bring some of the world’s biggest criminals to justice – and we won’t slow down.”
Prior to this announcement, Patel had revealed the arrest of the wanted fugitive on Wednesday afternoon, emphasizing in a post on the X platform, “This arrest proves that time and distance cannot protect violent criminals from facing legal consequences.”
In his post, he also mentioned that this was a result of the FBI’s collaboration with international partners and that the fugitive accused of committing heinous crimes against children is on his way to being extradited back to the United States.
The long-sought fugitive who was apprehended on Wednesday is named Alexis Flores. He is charged with the strangulation of 5-year-old Iriana DeJesus in an apartment building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2000.
The murder took place in the summer of 2000, but it wasn’t until 2004 when Flores was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona for forgery that authorities began to suspect him in the kidnapping and murder of DeJesus.
However, it was only when DNA evidence eventually linked Flores to the DeJesus murder case that the suspect had already been deported back to his home country of Honduras.
After authorities charged Flores with murder and other serious crimes, a warrant for his arrest was issued by a judge on March 22, 2007. On the same day, a federal arrest warrant was issued.
From 2007 to March 2025, Flores remained on the FBI’s most wanted list.
As Patel mentioned, in recent months, the FBI has captured several fugitives from the ‘Top Ten Most Wanted’ list, with two individuals being apprehended in January of this year.