Dave McCann, fugitive in Clovis double homicide, arrested in Seaside

Dave Thomas McCann, sought in the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife and mother-in-law Saturday, was arrested early Wednesday in Seaside, Clovis police reported.

The arrest of McCann, 49, who was the target of a manhunt by multiple police agencies since the killings, was announced by Clovis Police Chief Matt Basgall at a news conference in Seaside. McCann was transported back to Clovis to face charges of double murder. He was booked Wednesday evening into the Fresno County Jail, where bail was set at $2 million.

Judith Cooper, 68, and her daughter, Tierney Cooper-McCann, 36, were found stabbed to death at a home in the 700 block of West Omaha Avenue.

Basgall said the arrest came after a tip from a homeless person in Seaside. Basgall said McCann was found sleeping in a homeless encampment. The chief said police had previously received a tip that McCann was picked up in Big Sur by someone who had dropped him off at a fast-food restaurant in Seaside.

Basgall said McCann “went off the grid,” with no cellphone, and that his arrest was the result of “old-fashioned police work.”

Police had been searching the Central Coast since a moving van rented by McCann was discovered in Paso Robles on Saturday night. On Tuesday, police searched an area near Cambria after two reports that he was sighted there Monday. Sheriff’s deputies from San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties, as well as Paso Robles police, joined the search for McCann, along with investigators from Clovis.

Cooper-McCann was remembered by co-workers at Community Regional Medical Center on Monday. She worked as a child-life specialist in the hospital’s burn center.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Dave McCann, fugitive in Clovis double homicide, arrested in Seaside."