US fugitive nabbed in La Union resort

MANILA, Philippines – An American fugitive facing rape charges has been nabbed by authorities ‎while hiding in a La Union resort.

Joint forces of La Union police and Bureau of Immigration arrested Phillip Vaughn Cox Thursday night who went into hiding in a resort he rented at Barangay (village) Pagdalangan Sur in Bauang town.

‎Police Officer 2 Jeffrey Rualo, of Bauang Municipal Police Station, told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview that Cox was caught by the police and Immigration Fugitive Search Unit and Intelligence Division operatives with his Filipina girlfriend.

Cox is facing two counts of first degree rape after molesting a minor in the United States.

Rualo said Cox ‎first hid in Pampanga.

Following the documentation for his arrest, police turned over Cox to the Immigration in Manila for proper disposition.

INQUIRER.net tried but could not get the Immigration Investigation Division for comment.

Rualo added that after being under the immigration’s custody, Cox might be brought to the US Embassy for his deportation.

In an article from NewsOk, an Oklahoma-based online publication‎ dated Aug. 22, 2001, Cox was listed as a suspect for raping a minor.