On October 7, 2011, Marie Carlson, from Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, disappeared from her home. Since then she has not been seen. Her case was profiled on TNT’s “Cold Justice” on April 17, 2015.
Since 2012 detectives from the DPS Tucson Intelligence Unit have assisted detectives from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with the investigation into Marie Carlson’s disappearance. DPS detectives, through their investigation, determined that the suspect, 46 year old James Ty Flanders, had lived in the Tucson area and was presently living in Cochise, Arizona.
On May 5, 2015, an arrest warrant for First Degree Murder was issued by the Okaloosa County/Circuit Court for James Ty Flanders.
On May 14, 2015, members of the U.S. Marshals Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force, along with members of the DPS Tucson Intelligence Unit and investigators from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, served the warrant at a residence in Cochise, AZ. They were given air support by Ranger 54 from the DPS Southern Air Rescue Unit. Flanders, who was outside at the time, was taken into custody without incident.
Flanders was taken by DPS detectives and booked into the Cochise County Jail.