The arrest of a sex offender, the identification of a woman wanted for not paying for fuel, and the announcement of a vehicle auction have all appeared on the official Facebook pages of area law enforcement agencies.

The sex offender was Robert Payne of Ohio. He was on “discretionary parole” and had failed to register as a sex offender. Once it became known that he was in the Tri-Cities area, Hastings police posted a photo of him on their Facebook page. Employees at the Hastings College library recognized him from that photo, and he was arrested within hours.

The woman who failed to pay for fuel at a Cairo gas station in January was identified through still photos taken off a surveillance tape at the business. She was arrested for the crime after the photos appeared on the Hall County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page.