PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — A man was arrested in Pigeon Forge Wednesday after authorities said they spent around 2 months looking for him. He was arrested for several counts of child molestation.
The charges against Dennis Dewayne Dockery, 67, stemmed from an investigation in Georgia. According to a release from the Department of Justice, he was first arrested in August 2021 for child molestation. They said he could have been molesting children since 2002 and had multiple victims.
He was released on bond but required to wear an ankle monitor. On May 13, authorities said they believed he tampered with his ankle and fled the county.
Investigators in the state teamed up with the U.S. Marshals' Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Atlanta, and they said they learned he was in East Tennessee. They said they spent much of Wednesday interviewing people and checking locations before finding him.
Dockery had a loaded gun tucked into his waistband, police said. However, they said an officer's "quick reaction" allowed the arrest without incident.
He was taken to the Sevier County Jail, waiting to be extradited to Georgia.