Authorities: Wanted man caught near playground at York County lake

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A wanted man from New Mexico was caught Tuesday at a lake in York County, the sheriff’s office says.

At around 12:20 a.m., a sergeant and a deputy did a security check at Recharge Lake and found a vehicle parked next to a playground.

One of the occupants, 24-year-old Justin Swearingen, initially gave the deputy a false name, the sheriff’s office said.

Eventually, he provided his actual identity, and the deputy discovered Swearingen had a warrant in New Mexico for two counts of failing to register as a sex offender.

Swearingen was an absconded sex offender and had been at large since September 2024, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was lodged in the York County Jail on the warrant and suspicion of sex offender registry violation and false reporting.