A missing brother and sister from Arizona were in protective custody Thursday after U.S. marshals in Oregon found them with a man they arrested on outstanding warrants.

Federal marshals arrested 33-year-old James Nelson Petty at a Silverton RV park Wednesday night 2008 and took a brother and sister from Arizona into protective custody.

Marshalls also found a woman and four other children inside the fifth wheeler where Petty was living.

 Petty’s  wanted in five states on a variety of fraud related charges, but the arrest also marks the end of a bizarre case of kidnapping involving 11 year old “Dalton” Vincent and his 10 year old sister “Lindsey”.

It ’s a case that would likely still be unsolved, except for the dogged persistence of a detective from little Elko, Nevada, (population 20,000)  who couldn’t keep his nose out of the case.

“It seemed like nobody was caring for the children and somebody needed to,” said Detective Dennis Price.

 Price said the case started as a simple bad check case in Elko.

“The receptionist brought a check down last August, 2007,” said Price.

She said “there’s something fishy about this would you look into it?” said Price.

As he dug around, Price says he discovered James Petty had allegedly stolen $150,000 worth of merchandise from Elko stores.

Price says he found Petty had bought a red 2008 ford pickup and a big fifth wheeler. The detective says Petty was using bad credit cards -- but would leave town before the banks discovered the fraud. Price dug deeper and found witnesses who told him Petty was travelling with a bunch of kids.

“So I’m thinking, okay, who are they?” he said.

Price got a juvenile detective to check around in the schools and hit pay dirt. The detective reported back that 5 new kids were registered in an area school.

Three had the last name Brannen. Detective Price later figured out  they were the children of Annette Brannen, a 37-year-old woman travelling with Petty.

The two other children had the last name Vincent, said Price.

He worried about them right away.

“They said two of the kids are street kids out of Tucson, that they took under their wing,” said Price.

Instead of simply writing up the bad check case and sending it to prosecutors, the second year detective pushed harder. He spent 30 days looking for the children’s mother, Elizabeth.

Details worry detective

Price was especially worried, he said, because Petty was driving around with a freezer in the back of his truck that gave off a foul odor. Price says witnesses told him Petty explained it away as rotting meat. It didn’t sound good to the detective.

“I’d heard Petty was carrying a chest freezer in his pickup, emitting a foul odor. Here I am trying to find the children’s mother and I’m not successful,” he said.

The detective first found the children’s grandparents on their father’s side in Oklahoma. Price called and explained he was looking for the missing children and the reason for his concern.

The detective remembers the grandmother saying, “Well, if you find em we don’t want em.”

But they did pass on one lead. They gave the detective the name and number of Elizabeth’s mother. He called her and listened to an incredible story.

The grandmother had talked with Petty.

“Petty told grandma that he had met the children’s mother for only 45 minutes and she is undeserving of the children,” Price said.

 He said “she signed custody of the children over to him and under no circumstances was he going to give them back,” said Price.

A month later, the detective from Elko, Nevada caught up with the missing children’s mom in Tucson.

 “She confirmed that she had only met Petty and Brannen the first time that day,” said Price.  “Total time that day was 45 minutes,” he said.

And she confirmed the custody document.

“Wrote out a piece of paper,” said Price. “Petty can have the children temporarily while I’m in for treatment,” he said.The detective says Elizabeth was in treatment for alcohol.

The children “were supposed to remain in the Tucson area,” said Price.

“He assured her the children would call her daily,” he said.

It never happened.

Price says once Elizabeth got out of treatment she started looking for Petty and her children but couldn’t find them. When he caught up with Elizabeth, Price says she still thought they were somewhere in town and told her they were on the run.

“She freaked! She just flat lost it!” he said.

Price says he urged Elizabeth to file a kidnap report with Tucson police.

She eventually did meet with an officer, Price says, but skipped a follow up interview with a detective. Because of that, Price says, Tucson police never opened a formal kidnap case for the children. In the meantime, Price says Elizabeth, who had ended an abusive relationship with a man, gave in to his please to move with him to Illinois.

The detective began to worry Petty might sexually abuse the missing children.

His crime in Nevada had nothing to do them, but he couldn’t get them out of his mind.

“I couldn’t do that,” said Price. “The children did not belong with Petty or Breannan. That I knew.”

Finding the children consumed him 

“My major concern, my major focus,” Price said. “I wasn’t quitting,” he said.

He began to work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Price says he also called the FBI but was told they would not work on the case without the official police kidnap report.

Finally,  Tuesday, January 22,  Price says a  contact from the Center called a personal friend who is a U.S. Marshall.

Price heard what he’d hoped to hear for months.

“You have a vaid case. We want to get on board and we want to help you,” Price remembers hearing. He told them everything he knew.

Price says the Marshalls activated  a multi state team and tracked down Petty and the children in just seven days.

“I am nothing but impressed with the U.S. Marshall’s Office,” said Price.

He says a team found the trailer and watched it until they knew Petty was in the back, then moved in to make the arrest.

The missing children were put in protective custody while detectives sort out the many charges against Petty, and investigate whether the children were abused.

The Marshalls called detective Price with the good news.

“I was thrilled!” he said.

Thinking back over the last five months, Price thinks his intense focus on children he’d never met was simply common sense.

“I just stood out for the kids,” he said.

 “You know what? These kids have got to be safe. That’s just my nature,” said Price.

Wednesday night in  Elko, Nevada,  Dennis Price reached into the fridge at home for a bottle of champagne he’d been saving for months.

He and his wife popped the cork to celebrate.