HAZEL DELL, Wash. - A transient sex offender was arrested Monday afternoon in connection with the murder of a teenage girl whose body was discovered in an overgrown field over the weekend.

Darrin Eugene Sanford, 30, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 13-year-old Alycia D. Nipp (pictured below), a Thomas Jefferson Middle School student.

Nipp's stepfather discovered her body around 2:30 a.m. Sunday while he was out searching for her after she had been reported missing.  Nipp had been stabbed multiple times and police believe her body was dragged to a wooded area and left there.  All of her clothing was found intact.

According to the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Sanford is one of a number of transient sex offenders living in the Hazel Dell area and was known to frequent an abandoned house in the vicinity of the murder.  Other details connecting him to the murder were not released.

Sanford is a Level III registered sex offender, which means he was identified as a sex offender who could pose a potential high risk to the community and who might re-offend. 

Sanford was convicted in 1998 for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and two counts of luring with sexual motivation.  Details about that case can be found on Sanford's Registered Sex Offender Detail Sheet.

Police would like to hear from anyone who knows of Sanford's whereabouts over the weekend.  If you have information, call the Clark County Sheriff's Office tip line at 1-877-274-6311.

Sanford has been booked into the Clark County Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday morning.