Armed sex offender on the run after leading RV pursuit across L.A., Kern counties; 2 kids aboard taken into custody

LOS ANGELES -- (KTLA) -- The driver of a motor home was at large after leading authorities on a chase from Mid-City in Los Angeles to Kern County Tuesday with his two children on board, according to authorities.

Deputies started pursuing the motor home at around 2:30 p.m. in the Mid-City area, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

The agency identified the suspect as 46-year-old Stephen Houk, a convicted sex offender who is believed to be armed. He remained at large after fleeing the motor home in Shafter, just outside of Bakersfield, around 7:40 p.m.

His two children—3 years old and 11 months old— have been taken into custody and were "in motion" to be reunited with their mother Tuesday evening, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Houk is on parole for a sex offense and a registered sex offender in Oregon, according to the agency. He's now wanted for evasion, child abduction, child endangerment and weapons violations, the Sheriff's Department said.

California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Tao said the driver had a dispute with the children's mother, his wife, earlier in the day, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Tao said the woman communicated with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and spoke with the suspect on the phone as he was driving, according to the paper.

She tried to persuade her husband to pull over, Tao said.