Police: Solar eclipse aids in arrest of most wanted sex offender

Cedar Rapids Police said the solar eclipse Monday helped them capture a man on the most wanted sex offenders list.

Police said the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation wanted 26-year-old Ladarius Blue of Waterloo for failing to register as a sex offender. DCI agents haven't known where Blue was since early June. The U.S. Marshals and DCI investigators had narrowed the search for Blue to Cedar Rapids.

Police, DCI agents, Linn County Sheriff's Deputies, and U.S. Marshals set up surveillance on Monday in the 1300 block of G Avenue and saw Blue leave a residence in what appeared to be an attempt to observe the solar eclipse. When officers approached him, Blue ran off, leading officers on a foot chase through the northeast side of Cedar Rapids.

A citizen told law enforcement they had watched a man climb into their yard waste container in the 800 block of Oakland Road NE. That's where officers arrested Blue before taking him to the Linn County Jail.

Blue was convicted in 2010 in Fayette County for a lascivious act with a female child under age 13. In 2011, Blue pleaded guilty in Fayette County for failure to register as a sex offender.