Fugitive is now in custody

WEIRTON - A Follansbee man sought for several days by area law enforcement agencies was apprehended Friday afternoon after he appeared at Weirton Medical Center seeking medical assistance.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Sara Ahrens, spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service's Wheeling office, said Donald Gaschler, 41, of Follansbee was apprehended after employees at the hospital phoned Weirton Police when he arrived there. Gaschler had been seeking medical attention because he had been without medication for a recurring condition since fleeing into a wooded area near Heathermoor Drive on Wednesday.

She said the staff member had recognized Gaschler from a photo disseminated by law enforcement officials through the media.

Ahrens said U.S. Marshals were already on their way to the hospital at the time because they had received information Gaschler had been without his medication.

"U.S. Marshals took custody of Gaschler from the hospital after he was deemed stable by medical staff," she said.

The U.S. Marshal's Service said Gaschler's apprehension was made possible by a collaborative effort involving officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, Hancock County Sheriff's Department and Weirton Police.

The agencies conducted a search that included helicopters and K-9 units after a plainclothes police officer spotted Gaschler near his van outside Heathermoor Apartments.

Hancock County Sheriff Mike White said the search was called off Friday morning in hopes that Gaschler would surface.

Gaschler had been missing since failing to appear for a sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court for charges of conspiring to possess heroin with intent to deliver, distributing the drug and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

A new sentencing date hasn't been set for him.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)