Oprah rewards women who helped nab fugitive
Showbiz Desk

FARGO (N.D.)—Two women received $50,000 checks from Oprah Winfrey’s show for their part in capturing a fugitive sex offender from Indiana. Friends Karie Miller of Fargo and Jean Rosenthal of Moorhead, Minn. held hands while walking onto the set of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to a standing ovation by the audience on Tuesday.
Miller tipped off FBI agents last Thursday, reporting that William Carl Davis lived above her family in a north Fargo apartment. “This is why I say you were so courageous, because you know what courage is,” Winfrey told the women. “It’s being scared but doing it anyway.”
Rosenthal watched Winfrey’s show Oct. 4 on fugitives accused of preying on children when she saw the profile of a man she knew as Mark Allen Davis. After Miller checked the profile, she called FBI agents in Minneapolis to turn in her neighbour.
Authorities wanted Davis, 33, of Wadesville, Ind., on 10 felony counts of child molestation and failing to register as a sex offender. Davis used an Indiana birth certificate and driver’s license to obtain a North Dakota license in his brother’s name.
The state issued a license to Davis after properly checking for authentic documents, said Marsha Lembke, director for the state Department of Transportation’s driver license and traffic safety division. Davis lived in the Fargo-Moorhead area since August 2004, according to Dave Harmon, who employed Davis as a maintenance man at six area rental properties.
Davis also had three brushes with police - including a Sept. 17 crash when his bicycle collided with a car and he broke his leg - during his stay. North Dakota uses a checklist when out-of-state residents apply for a license. At least two pieces of authentic identification must be used to obtain a license, along with a successful background check, Lembke said.
The state implemented stringent standards after Sept. 11, 2001 to address security concerns, she said. “We have the right pieces in place” to meet the concerns, Lembke said. “We really think we have it down. We will have to be even more vigilant now”.