EFFINGHAM COUNTY — A 60-year-old Altamont man waived extradition this week in Effingham County Court, allowing him to
(Effingham County Sheriff’s Dept)
be returned to Missouri where he faces additional felony charges.
Steven Larson faces felony charges in Effingham County of indecent solicitation of a child, unlawful restraint and obstructing justice as well as two couts of kidnapping. The counts stem from the January 31 disappearance of a 13-year-old girl from rural Effingham who was later located with Larson in a motel in Sikeston, Mo.
Larson also faces charges in Missouri, including child kidnapping, statutory rape in the first degree and child molestation in the first degree. With his decision to waive extradition, Larson can now be returned to Missouri to face those charges, which include higher potential penalties than the local counts.
In light of Larson’s waiver of extradition, Judge Kimberly Koester Thursday vacated his scheduled June 1 trial date in Effingham County.