Father led double life, officers say

The man arrested in Rhode Island over the weekend accused of abducting his 1-year-old son from Utah waived extradition Monday.

Investigators now expect Nicholas Compas, also known as Nicholas Gamvas, to be back in the Beehive State soon.

Compas, on the run from Utah authorities since February, was captured Saturday.

Monday, Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder revealed that the more investigators found out about Compas' history, they quickly learned they were dealing with more than just a custodial dispute case. What detectives uncovered was a man who had actually been on the run from authorities for 15 years, living in different states under different names, constantly changing his physical appearance while using forged credit cards and other false identification.

"He was kind of a master of disguise," Winder said.

But through a combination of good police work and an incredible set of lucky circumstances, Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators along with help from the U.S. Marshal's Office were able to finally catch up with the man who was not only wanted for taking a child from Utah, but for a kidnapping and assault case in Minnesota 15 years ago.

On Feb. 17, Compas, known to most people as 47-year-old Nicholas Gamvas, was having a supervised visit with his 1-year-old son and the boy's mother at Market Street Grill in Cottonwood Heights. He had been allowed similar supervised visits.

During the lunch, Gamvas excused himself to go to the bathroom to change his son. Instead, he went out the door and never returned.

As the sheriff's office began to dig into Compas' background to determine his whereabouts, Winder said his office developed a personality profile on Compas.

"It's one of the first times the sheriff's office has done it," he said.

What investigators learned was Compas, or Gamvas, lived a "life of secrecy," Winder said. He was renting cars under assumed names and took off the front license plate before driving them so on-coming cops couldn't run a check on him, Winder said.

Police uncovered a trail of assumed identities, forged credit cards and drivers licenses in other states like Montana and Oregon. They learned he also had a history of domestic abuse and violent behavior but charges were never filed against him.

"He is abusive to partners," he said.