Man spends cold night covered in leaves, hiding from police

PERRY COUNTY, Mo. -- A Fredericktown, Mo., man spent Sunday night "freezing his tail off" under a tree in an attempt to avoid arrest, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Monday.

Charles D. Grindstaff, 30, was arrested about 7:20 a.m. Monday after someone spotted him hiding under a pile of leaves on a neighbor's property and called police, Schaaf said.

Grindstaff's misadventure began about 9:20 p.m. Sunday, when someone spotted a man walking along Highway 51 south of Perryville, Mo., and called officers out of concern he might get hurt, Schaaf said.

A deputy found Grindstaff and offered assistance, Schaaf said.

"He wanted to give him a ride wherever he was going to get him out of the cold," he said.

The deputy checked Grindstaff's background and discovered he was wanted on a warrant for a minor offense, Schaaf said.

"It wasn't anything terribly dangerous," he said.

Online court records show Grindstaff was charged with second-degree trespassing early last year, and a warrant for his arrest was issued Feb. 6 in Madison County Circuit Court.

Grindstaff fled on foot, escaped into a field and remained out all night, Schaaf said.

"We found out later [he was] sleeping under a tree, covered with leaves, freezing his tail off. ... I think he was pretty happy to finally get inside," the sheriff said.

Grindstaff was ill-prepared for a night out in the cold.

"I think all he had on was a flannel shirt," Schaaf said.

Meteorologist Rachel Trevino of the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said overnight temperatures in the area bottomed out at about 13 degrees, with windchills as low as minus 3.

She said Grindstaff's first few hours outside probably weren't bad, but temperatures plunged when a cold front came through the area about midnight.

"Crime doesn't pay, does it?" Trevino said.

Grindstaff did not appear to be hypothermic after his evening outdoors, Schaaf said.

"He was just dang cold," he said.

In 2003, Grindstaff pleaded guilty to possessing chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, and in 2004, he pleaded guilty to a charge of drug distribution or manufacturing, online court records show.

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Pertinent address:

Perry County, Mo.