Duane Phillip Ranthum, 50, a Live Oak County jail trusty who escaped on Christmas Eve, was arrested by the Nashville (Tenn.) Police Department at a motel on Tuesday at about 10 p.m., said Live Oak County Sheriff Larry Busby.

“We got a tip he [Ranthum] was in Karnack with his wife,” Busby said. “When the Harrison County officers arrived, he was no longer there. His wife was arrested for harboring a fugitive.

“When he [Ranthum] called home, he was told his wife had been arrested and he hung up. The Harrison County officers called the number back and found it was a cell phone that belonged to a wounded soldier that was on a bus in Tennessee. He was on his way home from Iraq,” the sheriff said. The soldier subsequently let officers know Ranthum’s whereabouts.

“He was found at the Comfort Inn in Nashville and arrested by the Nashville PD. He was transported to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office where he is being held on fugitive from justice charges with no bond. We are working with the U.S. marshal on extradition,” Busby said.