Wanted Sex Offender Found ‘Living Off the Land’ Deep in Louisiana Atchafalaya Basin

In an operation conducted by the U.S. Marshals task force, 51-year-old Brian Schaller, a wanted sex offender, was arrested on Thursday deep in Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin. Schaller, who had been convicted in 2016 for receipt of child pornography, was facing an active warrant in Tangipahoa Parish for sexual battery and oral sexual battery. According to a WBRZ report, he had an outstanding warrant in East Baton Rouge Parish for failing to register as a sex offender.

The arrest came after law enforcement officials received an anonymous tip on March 12, alerting them to Schaller's possible whereabouts in the swampy depths of the Atchafalaya Basin. The U.S. Marshals Service, responding to the tip, executed a search operation in the area. By March 13, they successfully located Schaller living in a makeshift hut deep within the swamp near the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area.

The structure was constructed from tree limbs, tarps, and paracord and served as Schaller's hideout. He admitted to surviving off the land since January, relying on small game and rodents caught in traps he had set up around his campsite. The presence of an early warning system, crafted from string and aluminum cans, indicated Schaller put forth the effort to be alerted if any threat was approaching.

Schaller's arrest was executed without incident as authorities proceeded with the charges related to his failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and the outstanding sexual battery charges.

See the full story and more photos here at WBRZ.