In Hallsville, a wanted sex offender was taken into custody Thursday evening after a heavy law enforcement presence near Route B and East Highway 124.

Boone County deputies, along with U.S. Marshals, arrested 51-year-old Eric Dwayne Gathings around 5 p.m. Authorities say Gathings had been living unlawfully near a school and childcare facility without registering his address.

Deputies found him hiding in an attic after executing a search warrant.

Gathings is now being held in the Boone County Jail on a U.S. Marshal hold and local accusations of failing to register as a sex offender and being too close to a school.