MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA, Ind. — Police in Tennessee believe a Madison County councilman charged with sex crimes may be in the Gatlinburg area.
According to the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, authorities have reason to believe Steven Craig Sumner, 55, might be in the Gatlinburg area. Sumner failed to appear at a court hearing on Aug. 8 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. According to our newsgathering partners at The Herald Bulletin, a source told them Sumner fled the state.
Indiana State Police began the search for Sumner, asking for the public's help in locating the wanted man, and now the U.S. Marshals Service has joined the search.
Sumner is facing 18 charges including rape, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a child, sexual battery and possession of child pornography.
“I have no idea why my client did not show up,” Sumner’s attorney Cody Cogswell said, according to The Herald Bulletin.
If convicted on all the charges, Sumner is facing a possible sentence of 10 to 57 years in prison.
According to The Herald Bulletin, Sumner was elected to the Madison County Council in 2018. He resigned from the council in 2021. He also served as a pastor with the Lighthouse Church in Anderson.
Sumner is described as being 6 feet tall and weighs 215 pounds. He has hazel eyes and graying brown hair.
He has a history of working in the Nazarene Church in Montana and Colorado and attended the Nazarene Church Bible College. Police said he might be working as a handyman and also has connections to the Waynesville, N.C. area and Maryland.
According to Crime Stoppers, Sumner is being helped by a woman named Sharon Bailey Wood Barker, who is 5'7" with blonde hair that may be dyed. They are pictured below on a poster released Monday, Sept. 11 by East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers.
If you know Sumner's whereabouts, please contact ETVCS at 865-215-7165, or the ISP at 1-800-527-4762 or 765-778-2121.