Suspect found after escaping police search at Eastern Iowa Airport

UPDATE: Police arrested James Stanfield in the parking lot of the Clarion Inn on 33rd Ave. SW  at around 6:55 p.m. Friday. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Linn County Jail.

Cedar Rapids Police hoped to pick up the suspect for a third offense drunk driving warrant at the Eastern Iowa Airport Friday afternoon. Instead, that effort triggered an extensive search.

The state warrant charged James Stanfield, 42, with third offense OWI.  Police spokesperson Sgt. Cristy Hamblin was uncertain of Stanfield's address or the agency that issued the warrant Cedar Rapids Police were trying to serve.

According to police, Stanfield was on a Burlington Trailways bus that left West Burlington Friday morning and arrived at the airport shortly after 12:20 p.m.  Trailways buses have used the airport as a bus stop since flooding damaged a downtown Cedar Rapids terminal.

Stanfield was scheduled to leave on a 2:30 p.m. bus from the airport for Kansas City.

Police learned Stanfield was on the bus and went to the airport to try and arrest him.  But the suspect may have been alerted to the police presence and slipped away.

Police police and federal agents searched the area around the airport and inside the terminal.  The search ended around 5:30 p.m. with no sign of the suspect.  Airport officials say flights were not impacted by the police activity.

Sgt. Hamblin did not know why federal authorities were involved unless it had something to do with the airport location of the search.