Massachusetts Fugitive Found In Makeshift Hideout Under Sink

BELCHERTOWN (CBS) -- A fugitive on the Massachusetts State Police Top 10 Most Wanted list was found in a makeshift hideout under a sink Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Keith Truehart, 30, had been wanted since late last year for allegedly causing serious injuries to his girlfriend's 9-month-old daughter in November.

"Troopers and officers located Truehart under a sink in that same girlfriend's apartment on North Main Street in Belchertown in a makeshift hideout he had built from wood and Sheetrock," police said in a statement.

Police said they found a backpack under the sink, "filled with the type of gear that you would expect to use if you were staying outdoors for extended periods of time," including water bottles and bug spray.

It's believed Truehart may have been hiding out in a nearby abandoned building during the day.

Truehart will be arraigned in Belchertown District Court on charges of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury, intimidation of a witness, assault and battery and malicious destruction of property.

Police allege that the 9-month-old suffered severe head injuries while she was alone with Truehart, and it could not have been due to an accident.

He fled to avoid capture when police began investigating the injuries, officials said. He was added to the most wanted list just last week, and police received information suggesting that he had returned to his girlfriend's apartment.

The baby is now in the state's care.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports: