A 42-year-old Marion County man recently sentenced to 30 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release on charges stemming from him having sex with a juvenile female while they both lived in a cave appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
Isaac James Melder, who lists an address along Fort Creek Lane in Yellville at the time he was arrested, pled guilty to a federal charge of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity in July.
On Monday, Melder pled to the charges in his Baxter and Marion County cases. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. The time was suspended based on his federal sentence.
Prosecutors told the court that the victim and her parents were aware of the plea agreement. The victim wrote a letter which she asked that the court read and then pass along to Melder.
A large list of special conditions will be in effect during the period of supervised release including having no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with any minors.
In addition, Melder will be required to participate in a federal sex offense-specific treatment program.
He will also be required to register as a sex offender in both the federal and state cases.
STATE CHARGES
Because part of the incident involving Melder and the 14-year-old Mountain Home girl took place in Baxter County and part in Marion County, state charges were filed against Melder in both
In Baxter County, Melder is accused of interfering with custody, sexual indecency with a child, kidnapping and Internet stalking. In Marion County, he faces four counts of sexual indecency with a child.
CAVE WELL STOCKED
Melder was booked into jail in June 2022 after he was found living in cave north of Summit in Marion County with the minor female. The girl had been reported missing by her family May 12.
Investigators reported that Melder stocked the cave with food and other provisions to allow the couple to live there for an extended period.
Searchers from the Mountain Home Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and a canine tracking team from the North Central Unit of the state prison system at Calico Rock, were looking in an area off State Highway 14 north of Summit in very rugged terrain when Melder and the teenage girl were discovered.
Investigators said it was not the first time the girl had run away with the much older man. They were caught in January in Marion County only a few hours after she had been reported missing.
Mountain Home Police Department Criminal Investigator Lieutenant Mike Day told KTLO, Classic Hits and the Boot News immediately after Melder’s arrest that it appeared the two had been planning on running away together since they were initially caught.
EXTENSIVE SEARCH
Multiple agencies from a number of cities and counties were involved in the search that was conducted on the ground and in the air.
Canine tracking teams along with an airplane and helicopter as well as several drones were all part of the extensive search.
Investigators said Melder had dated the girl’s mother years ago and has known the daughter since 2013. Melder and the mother resumed seeing each other but broke off the relationship.
Despite the end of that dating relationship, Melder was reported to have been allowed to visit the house.
Authorities say the fact that Melder had been around the teen for such a long time gave him ample opportunity to “groom” the girl.
MARION COUNTY CASE
Melder also faces charges in Marion County.
In May, according to the probable cause affidavit in that case, the female victim is reported to have admitted she had walked from her middle school in Mountain Home to a pre-arranged destination on College Street.
From there Melder and the teen went to the cave in Marion County where they lived for the next six weeks during which the major search effort was being carried on to find the girl who was then listed as a missing person.
She told investigators she loved Melder and that she had sex with him on multiple occasions while they lived in the well-stocked cave.
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