Fugitive Father Arrested in Vallarta

This undated photo provided by the United States Marshals Service shows Byron Perkins, who was released from jail where he was serving time for drugs and firearms violations so he could be tested to see if he could donate a kidney for his son, Destin Perkins. When Byron Perkins instead fled to Mexico with his girlfriend, nearly 100 TV viewers of 'Americas Most Wanted' March 18, 2006, episode which featured Byron Perkins called in and offered their kidneys to the 16-year-old from Russell Springs, Ky. (AP/United States Marshals Service)

A Kentucky man who had been on the lam for more than a year after he was released from jail to donate a kidney to his son was captured in Mexico on Wednesday, a deputy U.S. Marshal said.

Byron Perkins and his girlfriend, Lee Ann Howard, were captured in Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's Pacific coast, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Dawn Izgarjan.

The pair was en route to Los Angeles, California, where they would face an initial court appearance Thursday, said Izgarjan.

Perkins - who had been awaiting a possible life sentence after he was convicted on drug, weapon and other charges - got out of jail without bond in January 2006 so he could undergo testing before donating a kidney to his teenage son, Destin.

Izgarjan, who was in the courtroom when Perkins asked to be released, said everyone thought he was being sincere.

"He was crying. He was just literally begging the judge," Izgarjan said. "He told the judge, 'My son is going to die if I don't give him this kidney. He's so sick right now.' "

Perkins, who had served seven years for bank robbery, even left behind a letter promising he would "come through" for his son, who needed dialysis.

But on the final day of hospital testing, Perkins did not show up.

"You know he ran," said Destin's mother, Angela Hammond. "It doesn't say much about his feelings for Destin." Destin eventually received a kidney transplant from an anonymous cadaver donor.

Perkins was not wearing a tracking ankle bracelet because doctors told the court it would have interfered with medical tests.

Izgarjan said that Perkins and Howard had been in Puerto Vallarta for the past three days.

Before that, they had been in Mexico's Colima state in a town near Manzanillo, further south along the coast, she said. She had no details on how the pair survived during their long period on the run.

CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.