LAGRANGE COUNTY, IN (WTVB) – A Quincy man has been arrested in connection with a 1986 rape case in Lagrange County, Indiana.
The Indiana State Police said in a press release that 62-year-old Ricky Devonne McLatcher was arrested Monday on a warrant out of LaGrange County for Criminal Deviate Conduct, Burglary and Criminal Confinement.
The Indiana State Police were assisted by the Michigan State Police in the arrest.
McLatcher was taken to the Branch County Jail where he was held pending extradition back to Indiana.
Indiana State Police say the arrest came after a 39-year investigation that was able to use science and technological advancements to help in the investigation.
The alleged sexual assaults took place in October of 1986. State Police say the suspect abducted a woman who had stopped and got out of her vehicle to remove an object from the road.
During their investigation, authorities determined the victim had been allegedly held against her will and sexually assaulted near Howe and again near Orland.
The case was unsolved when in 2015, an Indiana State Police detective learned of it and took interest.
The changes in technology eventually led to a reopening of the investigation.
In 2023, the DNA results were found to be a candidate for genetic genealogy and resulted in identifying a family line tied to the DNA evidence.
After further investigation, Indiana State Police Detectives and the Indiana State Police Cold Case Team were able to narrow this family line down to one person.
This case was a combined effort with the Lagrange County Sheriff’s Department, Lagrange County Prosecutor’s Office, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police, the Indiana State Police District 22 Detectives and Cold Case Team, and the Indiana State Police Regional Laboratory.
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