Wanted Man Turns Himself In To Security Guard At Tulsa Zoo

A security guard working at the Tulsa Zoo describes the moment when a most wanted felon turned himself in at the Zoo Thursday night after the suspect had been on the run for months.

Jimmie McGlothlin was charged in December with molesting four children he knew. Detectives say the abuse spanned 20 years.

Related Story: Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing Children Turns Himself In

Jeremy Cryer works for Owl Nite Security and says he was wrapping up his shift at the Zoo when a man randomly walked up to Cryer and asked him to call the police, so he could turn himself in. Cryer had no idea what McGlothlin was wanted for.

“He said he had warrants and he wanted to turn himself in and he was tired of being on the run,” said Cryer.

Cryer says this was a first for him. He says he had seen McGlothlin walking through the Zoo parking lot a few days earlier but didn't think anything of it.

"I didn't know who he was or anything so I wasn't sure if he really had warrants or anything,” said Cryer. "He said he was cold and he was tired of being on the run and was ready to deal with whatever he needed to."

Cryer says he knew it was serious when several Tulsa Police officers swarmed in minutes after he called. Cryer says he later searched McGlothlin's name on the internet and was shocked. TPD Child Crisis detectives started investigating McGlothlin last summer.

"It was first about physical abuse, then come to find out there had been sexual abuse of multiple child victims from the age of 3 to 14 that had spanned multiple years and it just kept going,” said Detective Jill Sallee.

Detective Sallee says it is common for child victims not to come forward about abuse for years. She says in this case, detectives kept talking to more people and kept finding more victims.

"As I talked to more people in the family and friends of the family, I started learning more about Jimmie McGlothlin's behaviors, his victims, and his patterns of abuse,” said Sallee.

Sallee says McGlothlin disappeared last fall and they believed he was hiding out around Keystone Lake. Sallee says she got calls for weeks about possible sightings. She says McGlothlin turning himself in was the best-case scenario for the victims.

“These are allegations that can make people feel violent, or react violently,” said Sallee. "I am so glad they don't have to have that anxiety of where could he be. Is he alive?"

McGlothlin is charged with 11 counts of molesting children and with having child pornography.