BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities hunted Tuesday night for a paroled sex offender who led them on an hours-long chase through California in a motor home with his two young children inside. 
 
 The youngsters, a 3-year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl, were found safe after the RV stopped in an orchard north of Bakersfield after a 100-mile northern freeway drive. But he was nowhere to be found. 
 
 The wanted man, identified as Stephen Houk, 46, was believed to be armed, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 
 
 Houk is a registered sex offender who was on parole following a conviction in Oregon for felony sodomy, records indicated. 
 
 The crime involved sex with a child under 14 years old but the circumstances were "too egregious to discuss," Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Darren Harris told KNBC-TV. 
 
 Houk had a fight with his wife Tuesday morning and apparently took the children, authorities said. 
 
 That afternoon, detectives from the Major Crimes Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in the mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles tried to detain the parolee, who was wanted for evading authorities, child abduction, child endangerment and weapons violations, according to a department statement. 
 
 That prompted a chase that moved from nearby Hollywood north. 
 
 The motor home, a Dolphin 2740 more than 25 feet long with a bicycle strapped to the back, cruised along several freeways at highway speeds. 
 
 As many as 15 California Highway Patrol cars followed but didn't close in following reports that Houk might have a gun and two children were in the vehicle. 
 
 During the chase, television reports showed the driver on the phone, with a dog in the seat next to him. 
 
 The hours-long pursuit moved onto freeways, including Interstate 5 through the Grapevine and into Bakersfield, some 100 miles away in Kern County, where the RV changed directions several times on State Route 99. The motor home finally stopped on a road in an orchard north of town where authorities surrounded it. 
 
 The children were found safe at around 7:30 p.m. but Houk wasn't in the motor home, authorities said. 

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 A motor home pursuit ends with a standoff in an orchard. Robert Kavacik reports from Bakersfield for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on May 1, 2018 (Published Tuesday, May 1, 2018) 
 
 A registered sex offender from Oregon accused of leading a motor home chase Tuesday across Southern California freeways ended the hourslong chase in a standoff with police in Bakersfield, but was still on the loose, authorities said. 
 
 Stephen Houk, a 46-year-old parolee from Oregon who was possibly armed, was still at large Tuesday night after a standoff with deputies. His children, a 3-year-old boy and 11-month-old girl, were safely removed from the RV, authorities said. 
 
 Houk reportedly ran into an orchard at some point before or during the standoff, and his children were eventually taken safely into custody. It wasn't clear when the suspect ran from the vehicle. 
 
 Photo credit: Marion County Sheriff's Office 
 
 The chase began earlier Tuesday when Houk and his wife were involved in a possible domestic dispute in the Lost Hill area, authorities said. The initial call involved "criminal threats." 
 
 Police began reporting a possibly armed kidnapping suspect leading a police pursuit with two children inside a motor home out of the Santa Clarita area shortly thereafter. 
 
 After the initial call there was a brief pursuit, which was terminated for reasons that are not immediately clear. 
 
 Then, another police agency spotted the motor home Tuesday afternoon and the chase was on around the streets of Hollywood and onto the 101 Ventura Freeway. 
 
 WATCH: SoCal's Wildest Police Chases 
 
 Southern California's wild police chases: We've all seen them, and some can take pretty unexpected turns. Watch our collection of some of the wildest moments from the most infamous, dramatic pursuits. (Published Friday, July 14, 2017) 
 
 The chase transitioned to the 170 North which turns into the 5 Freeway, before continuing north to the Bakersfield area. 
 
 Houk was accused of driving the RV north on the Golden State Freeway through Santa Clarita about 55 mph with police cars trailing behind. The RV was a Dolphin 2740, complete with bicycles clamped on the back. 
 
 CHP Officer Siara Lund said it was believed that two children were inside the vehicle and the driver was possibly armed. 
 
 After many hours, the RV came to a stop on a rural road and Houk was accused of engaging in a standoff with deputies. His children were rescued by authorities by 7:30 p.m. 
 
 The children's mother was said to be on her way to Bakersfield to be reunited with them. 
 
 Houk was on parole after being convicted of sex with a child under the age of 14, deputies said. The circumstances of that conviction were "too egregious to discuss," Capt. Darren Harris said. 
 
 It wasn't immediately clear why Houk and family members were in the Southern California area. 
 
 Authorities called off the search for Houk around midnight Tuesday. It was unclear if the search would resume Wednesday.
– A sex offender believed to be armed escaped police after leading them on a 100-mile chase in an RV with bicycles strapped to the back, per the AP. It certainly wasn't the fastest escape ever. Authorities say 46-year-old Stephen Houk refused to pull over in Los Angeles around 3pm Tuesday. He then led California Highway Patrol officers over freeways for hours, heading north with his two young children at speeds of about 55mph, before his motor home got stuck in an almond orchard north of Bakersfield, reports the Los Angeles Times. As officers were deciding how to proceed through dust and heavy brush while keeping an eye on a heat signature in the driver's seat, Houk is believed to have slid out an RV door hidden from view. Houk's 3-year-old son, who'd been in the driver's seat, then emerged from the RV, telling police his father had left him and his 11-month-old sister behind, police say. "Turns out (the heat signature) was actually the little boy," says a CHP rep. The two children, unharmed, were reunited with their mother, who police say had been on the phone with Houk as he drove, trying to convince him to pull over. NBC Los Angeles reports there had been an earlier dispute between the couple, with police receiving a call mentioning "criminal threats." Houk is now wanted for evading, child abduction, child endangerment, and weapons violations. A registered sex offender in Oregon, Houk was previously convicted of sex with a child under 14. A sheriff's deputy says the circumstances of that case are "too egregious to discuss," per NBC.