Man arrested in Soldotna on felony sex offender registry charge

Troopers arrested a Soldotna man Thursday after his probation officer found a phone number and tattoos missing from his sex offender registry file, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers arrested Randy Bird at about 2:18 p.m. on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender or child kidnapper in the first degree, a class C felony under Alaska law. The charge is an accusation, and Bird is presumed innocent.

Bird contacted his probation officer from a phone number not listed on his registry, troopers said in a daily dispatch report. Asked when he got the phone, he said he had gotten it a couple of days earlier. Bird said he was waiting for his nephew, Mark West, to accompany him to the troopers post to update the registry.

Probation officials also found tattoos missing from his file: a rose, a butterfly, roses on his ankle and foot, and text on his abdomen. Only a peacock tattoo appears on his registration.

Alaska's sex offender registry requires phone numbers and physical descriptions to stay current. Noncompliance can also delay a registrant's Permanent Fund Dividend.

Bird was remanded to Wildwood Pretrial Facility.