A 56-year-old French man is in Canadian custody after he was arrested in Ontario at the request of U.S. authorities who say he recently made notice that he wanted to purchase a five-year-old boy.

Lieut. Howard J. Baker, the public information officer for the Cherokee Sheriff's Office in Georgia, told CTV.ca in a telephone interview that Patrick Ange Molesti, of Woodstock, Georgia, came to the attention of authorities "about a week and a half ago."

Baker identified Molesti as a French national who has been living in the United States.

Investigators received a tip that Molesti had interest in purchasing a five-year-old boy, Baker said. They obtained a search warrant and went to his home, but the suspect was nowhere to be found.

Police allege they found child pornography during a forensic search of Molesti's personal computer.

They made contact with Molesti by telephone, but he refused to turn himself in, Baker said.

Eventually police learned Molesti had boarded a bus in Wyoming that was headed for Canada.

Chris Adams, a spokesperson for the Thunder Bay Police Service, told CTV.ca in a Tuesday morning telephone interview that Molesti boarded a bus in Calgary that was headed for Montreal.

The journey was interrupted, however, when Molesti was arrested by members of the Emergency Task Unit on Friday evening when the bus stopped at the Greyhound bus terminal in Thunder Bay. The arrest occurred just after 8:30 p.m., Adams said.

He was unarmed at the time of his arrest, Adams said.

On Saturday, Thunder Bay police turned Molesti over to members of the Canada Border Services Agency, Adams said.

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Chris Kealey told CTV.ca that Molesti remains in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail. He faces a detention review hearing on Wednesday and an admissibility hearing that has yet to be scheduled.

The detention review hearing will be heard by an Immigration and Review Board adjudicator in Toronto who will speak to Molesti by a video phone that is available at the jail, Kealey said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Kealey said it is still not clear exactly how Molesti entered into Canada -- as in, if he travelled by bus or crossed the border by other means.

Baker said police do not believe Molesti had the intention to purchase a specific child and subsequently do not believe any children are in danger.

He said the accused did not hold any apparent ties to Canada, but simply crossed the border to flee police.

"Canada didn't have anything to do with this until he started to flee," said Baker.

Following Molesti's arrest, Cherokee Sheriff Roger Garrison thanked the people involved in the investigation for tracking down his suspect.

"I am very proud of the detectives who handled this investigation and who were subsequently involved in locating Molesti," Garrison said in a statement.

"We are also very thankful to the federal authorities and the Canadian police who played a pivotal role in the arrest of this suspect."

In Cherokee County, Molesti is wanted for a single count of sexual exploitation of children, Baker said, adding that Molesti will face four additional charges when he is returned to custody.