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A child molester who spent a decade on the lam and was featured on America's Most Wanted has been arrested after border officials determined he was living in Vancouver.

Steven Dyer fled Arizona in 2002 when he was released on a bond while awaiting trial. Later that same year, he was convicted in absentia on 13 child sex charges, but he couldn't be located until Tuesday, when officers with the Canada Border Services Agency arrested him at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal.

Border officials say that they received a tip from U.S. Marshals in December that Dyer was living in Vancouver. He was out of the country at the time, but officers were able to identify him when he touched down in Quebec.

CBSA enforcement officer Cindy Lepur told CTV News that Dyer obtained phony Canadian identification in 2004.

"He has proven himself very capable in obtaining fraudulent identification," Lepur said.

"Once he assumed the Canadian identity, his goal was to blend in with the community and not to draw any attention to himself."

During his time in B.C., investigators believe Dyer purchased homes in both Vancouver and Chilliwack.

Lepur said that an investigation is underway into Dyer's activities while he lived in the Vancouver area and police are asking for anyone with information to come forward.

Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Houghton told reporters that investigators will be reviewing any unsolved cases to see if Dyer matches the suspect description.

Dyer is currently being held in Montreal and faces a minimum jail term of 169 years once he is returned to the States.

Dyer's original charges relate to the repeated sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy over a period lasting more than 18 months, according to an official police complaint. He was convicted on one count of public sexual indecency and 12 counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

According to America's Most Wanted, Dyer comes from a wealthy family and volunteered as a Big Brother in Scottsdale before his arrest. Investigators determined that he befriended his young victim and plied him with alcohol before assaulting him.

Before he fled Arizona, Dyer obtained Arizona and New Mexico driver's licences and a passport using his brother Ronald's name, according to police. He used the passport to cross into Canada from Washington State in 2007.

Dyer was driving his father's Lexus SUV when he crossed into B.C. and investigators believe that he was living at visiting his parents' California home until 2005.

Police say Dyer's parents told young children in the family that he was an international spy and they shouldn't tell anyone they had seen him.

With files from CTV British Columbia's Mi-Jung Lee

Do you recognize Steven Dyer? If you have any information about his activities in B.C., please email bconline@ctv.ca.