Tulsa Police Capture Person Of Interest In NSU Professor's Death

Authorities have captured a person of interest in the murder of Northeastern State University professor Dr. Tiffany Maher, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Law enforcement officials took Joshua Schneider into custody in a wooded area just north of 91st Street South and Highway 169. His girlfriend, Heather Black, turned herself in early Saturday afternoon.

The Tulsa Police Department used search dogs and its helicopter to help locate Schneider, who had been on the run since he escaped a police pursuit July 18.

They found Schneider standing in a creek in a wooded area and tell News On 6 he has been living in a hotel the last few days.

He was checked out by EMSA personnel before being taken to the Tulsa County Jail.

Investigators have not revealed Maher's cause of death nor why Schneider is a person of interest. Both Black and Schneider were wanted on child neglect charges.

7/25/2013 Related Story: Tulsa County Charges Filed Against Couple On Run From Authorities

The child neglect charges, filed Thursday in Tulsa Court, stem from the police chase earlier this month. Police say Schneider abandoned his car - containing his 2-year-old daughter - in a wooded area as he escaped.

They say it took nearly an hour for investigators to locate the car, and the child was left without food, water or air conditioning. The temperature was in the mid-90s.

According to court documents, Black reportedly called a friend and said she and Schneider were on the run from police and gave the location where their car was abandoned.

The friend reportedly called 911 and told dispatchers Black said she also abandoned her two daughters at Broken Arrow's Bluff Landing recreational area, the affidavit says.

Schneider is 5'2" tall and weighs about 150 pounds, the OSBI bulletin noted. He was wanted on several felony warrants.