Police arrest fugitive trio hiding in national park

Ivan Andrew Campbell. Photo / supplied

A convicted paedophile, a fellow parole abscondee and an associate who have been hiding out in Arthur's Pass National Park have been arrested by police.

Ivan Campbell, Jaydon Galland and Jamie Campbell were apprehended without incident by a police search team shortly after midday today.

Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald said the trio were discovered in bush near the Hawdon Shelter, west of the Mount White Bridge.

The spot was not far from where one of the men's vehicles was found yesterday, he said.

All three will be taken to Christchurch this afternoon, where they will appear in the Christchurch District Court tomorrow morning.

Fitzgerald said the arrests were the product of good investigative work and the efforts of teams on the ground.

Campbell was arrested for breach of parole, Galland for breaching community detention and Campbell will face charges in relation to assisting the escape.

Campbell, 47, chained up a 14-year-old boy in a cupboard for a week of sadistic sex 12 years ago, and was on the run from police after he escaped from a Christchurch residential facility last Wednesday.

He absconded from the Salisbury St Foundation with fellow resident Galland.

Campbell was jailed for 14 years in 2001 for the horrific attack the year before.

He was paroled to live at the Salisbury St Foundation in June after serving 11 years of his sentence.