A manhunt for a migrant who was believed to be a violent fugitive has been called off after it was discovered that he had been in custody the entire time. Authorities had sought Kenson Noel, who failed to appear at a court hearing on charges of assaulting two female police officers in Bournemouth, Dorset. Noel’s solicitor had been unable to locate him, as he was no longer residing at the Roundhouse Hotel and had been transferred to an undisclosed facility.

The trial proceeded in his absence, resulting in a guilty verdict and a warrant for his arrest. However, it later emerged that Noel had been held in prison after being arrested on separate charges by a different police force. He had been remanded into custody in connection with a drug-related offense and did not inform prison officials or the courts about his pending trial on August 19. Furthermore, the Home Office had not disclosed his detention status to the courts.

Noel, 31, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, arrived in the United Kingdom in 2024 after fleeing drug gangs in his home country. On October 27 of the previous year, police attempted to arrest him, during which he allegedly spat at and attempted to headbutt PC Maddie Duncanson, as well as tried to bite PC Sinead Sheath. He faced two charges of assault at a magistrates’ court in November 2025. Subsequently, he was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to three years and three months in prison for possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Most recently, Noel appeared via video link from prison at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court. He was given an eight-month sentence for the assaults, to be served concurrently with his existing drug conviction. His defense solicitor, Ewa Russell, acknowledged that Noel could have informed the court of his imprisonment but said it had simply slipped his mind.