RENO, Nev. -- A man previously named a 'person of interest' in the disappearance of Stephanie Condon is under arrest in Reno.

kgw.com

Dale Wayne Hill, as shown in a police mug shot.

Deputies told KGW on Thursday that Dale Wayne Hill, who was 28 at the time Stephanie went missing, is currently their only suspect in the case.

On Wednesday, Hill was detained near Reno, Nevada for failing to register as a felon, charges unrelated to the Condon case. He appeared in court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to the felon charge and was sentenced to 30 days in the Lyon County Jail, southeast of Reno. This gives Oregon investigators additional time to potentially build their case against him.

Hill investigated by police

During the decade of investigation, Douglas County detectives said Hill's .38-caliber handgun was missing, and Hill told them he had sold it but could not remember to whom. He also told deputies that he saw Stephanie the night she vanished when he stopped by the house where she was babysitting.

 More: Condon's remains identified

A month after Condon vanished, Hill was arrested and charged with burglary for breaking into a Myrtle Creek home and stealing a pair of women's panties. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Search and rescue teams combed back roads near Myrtle Creek, especially in areas where a truck similar to one owned by Hill had been reported by local residents.

A year after Stephanie disappeared, detectives said they thought Hill harmed her in retaliation against the cousin, Cheryl Richey, who was at a bar with another man. Hill had been in the bar earlier that evening. Richey returned home at about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 31, 1998, finding her twins asleep and that Condon was gone.

Hundreds of clues poured in, from as far away as Kentucky and Missouri and some foreign countries. The reward fund for information reached $25,000.