FBI: Man declared dead several years ago arrested in kidnapping

JACKSON, Miss. -- A man legally declared dead 16 years ago who is now charged with kidnapping a Las Vegas girl could be linked to the discovery of a body in Arizona believed to be that of the girl's mother, authorities said Monday.

Thomas Steven Sanders is charged with kidnapping 12-year-old Lexis Roberts, whose body was found last month in Louisiana, the FBI said. Remains found along a remote mountainous stretch of Interstate 40 in northwestern Arizona are possibly those of the girl's mother -- 31-year-old Suellen Roberts -- who also had been missing, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Department said.

Sanders had lived openly for years despite having been declared dead. A nationwide manhunt started when he became the suspect in Lexis' kidnapping, which led to his arrest at a Gulfport, Miss., truck stop Sunday.

The bizarre case now leaves many wondering how a legally dead man can go unnoticed by authorities for so long -- even after being arrested in several states under his real name.

Authorities say the answer is simple, really.

There's no national death database in the United States, said James Kelly, sheriff of Catahoula Parish in central Louisiana, where the girl's skeleton was found by hunters in woods off a dirt road Oct. 8.

And at age 53, Sanders wasn't collecting Social Security, raising no red flags there. It's not even clear if Sanders knew he was considered dead.

Authorities said they were trying to determine if Thomas is linked to Suellen Roberts' disappearance.

Sanders had an initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport on a federal kidnapping charge and waived his rights to hearings in Mississippi, said Melanie Rube, a deputy U.S. Marshal. The Marshals Service has 10 days to send Sanders to Louisiana, where the federal kidnapping charge originated. Sanders did not enter a plea during the brief hearing, Rube said.

The public defender appointed for him did not immediately return a message.

In plain sight

Much of Sanders' past is a mystery ever since he walked out on his family in McComb, Miss., in 1987. He drifted from state to state and didn't buy property or establish many bills in his name -- things that create a paper trail for most people, authorities said.

His wife, Candice Sanders, divorced him in 1988 for allegedly "habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment."

Years later, Sanders' parents, brother and ex-wife petitioned a Mississippi court to have him declared dead. That was in July 1994, apparently so his children could receive death benefits, but it's not clear if they did.

Sanders moved around the country using his real name. Investigators know he lived in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Nevada. He worked as a laborer, a welder and a scrap metal collector.

He was arrested several times, on charges including possession of drug paraphernalia and for several traffic and motor vehicle violations in Tennessee, according to authorities. He also was sentenced to two years in Georgia for simple battery.

State and federal authorities said some of the charges involved minors, but they haven't elaborated.

In Nevada, Sanders met Roberts and her daughter Lexis a few months ago at a storage facility where Roberts kept some possessions and where Sanders worked for a time, Roberts' mother Mary Woodburn has told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Officials said security cameras showed Sanders buying ammunition Sept. 3 at a Walmart in Las Vegas. The bullets he bought were consistent with the weapon used to kill Lexis, authorities said.

Sanders was alone when he was arrested at the Flying J Truck Stop after a nationwide manhunt, FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said, declining to release further details. Kelly said Sanders wasn't armed and didn't put up a fight.

Authorities said they received a tip that Sanders would be on the Gulf Coast and had been looking for him.

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Associated Press Writer Felicia Fonseca in Phoenix contributed to this report.