KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A 39-year-old softball coach and a teenage player from Oregon who ran off together nine months ago were found in Tennessee this week after a minor traffic accident.
Andrew James Garver (search) was in jail Thursday, a day after he surrendered. Authorities will seek to send him back to Oregon to face charges of custodial interference and car theft, said FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele in Portland, Ore.
Garver said at a court hearing later Thursday that he would not fight extradition. A judicial commissioner granted Garver's request for a court-appointed attorney at the extradition hearing on Friday.
Oregon police have said Michelle "Mimi" Smith (search), 16, willingly left Oregon with Smith. Police said they believed the two had been living in Knoxville since they disappeared in September.
Garver's ex-wife, Cindy Vandervest, said Garver called her after his arrest and told her that he and Smith had rented an apartment together, with Garver working at a convenience store and Smith at a health club.
Authorities said Garver first gave a false name Wednesday when an officer began to investigate the accident, in which Garver's sport utility vehicle was sideswiped by another vehicle. No one was hurt, but the SUV was found to be reported stolen from Oregon and had stolen Tennessee license plates. After a while, Garver told the officer who he was, authorities said.
Smith could be released by Juvenile Court (search) on Friday, but more likely on Monday, to her parents or Oregon authorities if no charges are filed against her in Knoxville and she waives her right to contest being returned home, prosecutor Steve Sword said.
David Smith said his daughter was forced to run away with Garver.
"She is too young to make the decision to leave. She was 15 years old. She didn't possess the means to make those choices, so obviously she was forced by a much older man," he told reporters during a news conference Thursday in Portland.
The girl's mother, Sherry Smith, said she had spoken twice to her daughter and described her as being "in good spirits."
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