Rape Suspect Caught in Canada

The man police say kidnapped a woman from the Allegheny National Forest and raped her is in custody.

35-year-old Mike Beaulieu of Anson, Maine, was arrested at a campground in New Brunswick, Canada, by Canadian Mounted Police. The arrest came after Warren state police got a tip from a Maine state trooper saying Beaulieu left his truck in the Fort Kent, Maine, area and crossed a river into Canada.

The charges include aggravated assault; rape, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful restraint; terroristic threats and illegal possession of a handgun.

Beaulieu is accused of approaching a couple at Kinzua Point Information Center in Mead Township on Tuesday, Aug. 3, and showing them a .45 caliber pistol. He tied up the man, ordered the woman into his pickup truck, and then drove her to a secluded area of the national forest in McKean County, where he sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.

Police say after the assault Beaulieu told the victim he would be back in two minutes and drove away. The victim walked to Route 321 where she flagged down a passing state police trooper.

Police say he told the victim he was going to commit suicide, but wanted to "rape someone before I die."

Police say Beaulieu was identified from a photo lineup by the victims and by witnesses he stopped to talk with in Smethport and Eldred on Aug. 2.

Beaulieu was convicted of gross sexual assault engage in a sexual act as a result of compulsion on Feb. 14, 2005, and sentenced to 10 years in jail and four years probation. He served four years and the rest of his sentence was suspended by the Department of Corrections, according to the Maine Sex Offender Registry.

In a news release, police say authorities from PSP, US Forestry, Maine State Police, US Marshals, Fort Kent, Maine, Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police joined forces to track and capture Beaulieu near Baker Lac, New Brunswick, at a campground. Beaulieua was found inside a tent at the campground. He was in possession of a handgun at the time of the arrest and could face criminal weapons charges in Canada.

Police say both victims remained calm during the entire incident and provided them and US FOrestry investigators with vital information that led to the identification and eventual arrest of Beaulieu, according to the news release.