"Greater Manchester Police, with the support of the German authorities and the FBI, have arrested Toby Studabaker in Frankfurt, Germany," a spokesman said.

Sky News reported that 12-year-old Shevaun Pennington was alive and well and that the authorities know of her whereabouts, but Greater Manchester Police would not comment on the report ahead of a news conference.

Pennington, from Wigan, near Manchester in northwest England, ran away with Studabaker, 31, to Paris on Saturday, but only contacted her parents late Tuesday without offering any clue as to her location.

British police superintendent Peter Mason earlier said Shevaun had appeared at ease during the brief phone call.

"There was no indication that she was under any duress. She was there of her own free will," Mason said.

"Shevaun believes she is in a relationship with Mr Studabaker. It is a relationship that has developed over a number of months, starting off on Internet chat lines and progressing through to emails and personal letters and there has been a suggestion they spoke on the telephone."

Studabaker has been described as a devout Christian who attended a bible college in Ohio from 1993 to 1994. His wife Jenny died of cancer last year. The couple were childless, according to family.

Studabaker grew up in Constantine, Michigan, where he trained in martial arts and was a keen player of American football. He served with the marines in Afghanistan, for which he was decorated, but left the force in June with a shoulder injury.

WAR.WIRE