Man apprehended in N.H. after daylong pursuit

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

The daylong pursuit of a man wanted for questioning in a fatal house fire in New York State who may have abducted his girlfriend and 4-month-old son came to an end Wednesday night in New Hampshire, with the man being apprehended and the woman and child found safe.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a phone interview late Wednesday night that Matthew Slocum, 23, was apprehended inside a home in the town of Gilsum, N.H., shortly before 10 p.m.

Procopio said that Slocum’s girlfriend, Loretta Colegrove, 25, and infant son, Raymond Slocum, were also in the home and appeared to be in good health.

Slocum is wanted for questioning in connection with a house fire that killed three people early Wednesday morning, according to Procopio. The fire occurred 35 miles northeast of Albany in White Creek, N.Y., and the victims were Matthew Slocum’s mother, her husband, and her husband’s son, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities had issued an Ambert Alert yesterday and asked members of the public to be on the lookout for a 2003 black Ford Mustang that Slocum may have been driving. The car was found in Gilsum in the afternoon.

Massachusetts State Police said earlier Wednesday that Slocum may have been holding his girlfriend and son against their will. The Mustang was spotted at about 5 a.m. in Adams, Procopio said.

He said New Hampshire State Police later received a tip that Slocum may have driven to a home in Gilsum, where the New Hampshire State Police SWAT team later apprehended him. Details on the home’s owner were not released Wednesday night.

A spokesman for New Hampshire State Police could not be reached for comment late Wednesday night. It was not immediately clear when or where Slocum would make a court appearance, or the specific charges he will be facing.