A MENACING arrest photo shows heavily armed Mexican authorities posing next to the father accused of abducting his two toddler sons and fleeing to Mexico.

Dane Richman, 46, was at the center of a large-scale manhunt after federal investigators allege he ran off with his sons, Will and Wesley, during his custodial visit.

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Mexican authorities posing next to Dane Richman after being arrested on Tuesday eveningCredit: Secretariat of Citizen Security of Baja California
 

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Richman’s toddler sons Will (left) and Wesley (right)Credit: Annie Tomich
Mexican authorities arrested Richman on Tuesday evening in San Felipe, a coastal city in Baja California, about four hours south of San Diego.

The office of the Secretary of Security in Baja California said Richman and the children were found in a home in the neighborhood of Los Naranjos.

“The case, considered high-risk due to the involvement of minors, mobilized Baja California authorities, who achieved a successful outcome by rescuing the children safe and sound,” a press release read.

Richman was turned over to the National Migration Institute for extradition to the US, Mexican officials said.

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Meanwhile, Will and Wesley, aged 22 months and 10 months, respectively, received care before being reunited with their family.

US law enforcement said Richman fled south over the border into Mexico on May 19, days after he picked up his children from their mother Elizabeth Tomich‘s home in Washington state.

Tomich and Richman had been co-parenting from different states as their child custody battle maneuvered through the Utah court system.

The parents shared custody of the boys on a week-by-week basis.

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Per their custody agreement, Richman was not allowed to take the children out of Utah state, according to Tomich.

However, investigators allege Richman traveled to Carlsbad, California, about 34 miles north of San Diego, on May 18, two days after his week-long custody time with his sons began.

An Amber Alert was issued for Will and Wesley over the weekend after Richman failed to return the children to Tomich on May 23.

A neighbor of Richman told The U.S. Sun she had not seen the 46-year-old father since the first week of May.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said Richman had lived in the community in Saratoga Springs, Utah, for a decade but noticed his demeanor changed after he and Tomich separated last September.

“Ever since his fiancée left, he kind of didn’t talk as much,” the neighbor said in a phone interview.

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Mom Elizabeth Tomich told The U.S. Sun she and Richman had been co-parenting from different states as their child custody battle maneuvered through the Utah court systemCredit: Facebook
 

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Richman was arrested on Tuesday evening in San Felipe, a coastal city in the Mexican state of Baja California, about four hours south of San DiegoCredit: Utah AMBER Alert, Department of Public Safety
“I’d probably only had a chance to talk to him once since then and that was a few months ago at a grocery store.”

The woman said other neighbors in the area recalled spotting Richman outside his home carrying one of his sons in April.

But since then, the neighbor said she could not recall the last time she saw Will or Wesley.

“We definitely knew him. It’s a complete shock. We considered him a friend,” the neighbor said of Richman.

Tomich previously told The U.S. Sun she had flown into Utah on the evening of May 21 to attend a scheduled deposition the following day and to pick up her children that Saturday.

However, on the morning of the deposition, Tomich learned via email that Richman had fired his attorney and then failed to attend the hearing.

The concerned mother called Saratoga Springs Police and requested a welfare check at Richman’s home.

Authorities visited Richman’s home but received no response and did not find any cause for concern.

Tomich said she last heard from Richman at around 1pm on Friday, when he told her he and the boys were camping and he would drop off the children to her the following day.

Despite his reassurance, Richman did not appear at the agreed-upon location, prompting Tomich to call police again to report a second welfare check.

Investigators learned Richman had been giving away his belongings and had quit his job the week he went to pick up his sons on May 16.

Police said in court documents that Richman allegedly told his former employer that he was “unable to continue working due to current ongoing legal battles” with Tomich for custody.

The employer told authorities that Richman said he needed to move as he was losing his house to foreclosure, according to court records.

Property records viewed by The U.S. Sun showed Richman’s single family home is in foreclosure.

Investigators claim Richman’s financial situation was so dire that he had taken out an additional line of credit on his home equity.

Richman also allegedly gave a friend his motorcycle and a pickup truck as collateral for help with legal expenses, court documents state.

Tomich told The U.S. Sun that she reviewed text message exchanges between a neighbor and Richman, where he said his home was being foreclosed by the bank.

However, Tomich said she was unaware of Richman’s financial situation.