DARLINGTON — A man registered as a sex offender who cut off his ankle bracelet with a knife Feb. 13 was located within hours at a bar a block from his home, according to Darlington police.

Matthew Buman, 48, was released from prison last July. The Department of Corrections placed him in an apartment at 209 Main St. in Darlington under active community supervision.

Buman was “unaccounted for” and wanted after he was believed to have cut his GPS tracking bracelet off his ankle at about 3:45 p.m., according to Chief of Police Jason King, who sought the public’s help in locating Buman.

Buman was found and arrested without incident later that night, at about 1:30 a.m.

“He was at a local tavern, only a block away from his residence,” King reported.

Police believed Buman was with 29-year-old Timothy Fitzsimons while he was absconded, but Fitzsimons was not with Buman at the time of his arrest. Fitzsimons remains at large and is wanted by the Department of Corrections. 

Buman has spent the majority of the past 25 years in prison or under correctional supervision. He was convicted by a Lafayette County jury in 1995 of second-degree sexual assault with use of force, among other convictions over the years.