The Columbia County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday night arrested a 42-year-old Arkansas sex offender who they say admitted he traveled to Lake City to meet a 17-year-old girl for sex.

Deputies, who got involved when the victim’s father said his daughter may have had sexual contact with the suspect, spotted a man matching the offender's description walking toward the Piney Woods Lodge about 9:45 p.m.

The Sheriff's Office said when the man was ordered to stop, he ran across U.S. Highway 90 toward a Publix. Two deputies were able to apprehend the suspect after tackling him in the Publix parking lot.

During an interview, deputies said Anthony Swanson admitted that he had traveled to Lake City to meet a teenage girl he allegedly met her through a chat line. According to the Sheriff's Office, Swanson admitted to deputies that he had sexual contact with the victim.

Swanson was arrested and booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility on sexual battery on a person younger than 17 by a person older than 24, use or allow a child to engage in sex, child abuse, resisting arrest without violence.

Swanson was convicted of rape and sexual battery in Arkansas and is listed as a Level 3 sex offender in Arkansas. That state defines a Level 3 offender as offenders with "a history of repeat sexual offending, and/or strong antisocial, violent or predatory personality characteristics. These are individuals whose offense and criminal history require notification throughout the community."