Authorities have arrested a Missouri man accused of stealing livestock across multiple counties.
Melvin J. Fincher, 39, of Rolla, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service and Operation Relentless Pursuit officers on Monday in Neosho.
Fincher had been charged in February with stealing livestock valued at over $3,000 and possessing a prior offense. He was booked into the Newton County Jail, where he is being held on $50,000 bail.
The Rural Crimes Investigation Unit of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control had been investigating Fincher following a request from Polk County Sheriff Danny Morrison in September 2025. The investigation focused on the theft of cattle from a local resident. Fincher was also identified as a suspect in two additional cattle thefts, including one in Barry County.
Investigators noted that Fincher’s activities followed patterns similar to other livestock thefts across the state, including incidents in Polk and Phelps counties.
Fincher previously pleaded guilty in October 2025 for a cattle theft involving 42 cows stolen from a Texas livestock market in August 2024 that were then sold in Missouri, according to earlier reports.
