KEY WEST, Fla. — A Chico man who allegedly faked his own suicide to avoid jail for child pornography and child molestation was found living in a storage container and arrested in Florida.

Michael Patrick Manning, 58, of Chico, is in custody in Monroe County, Florida, awaiting extradition to California on no-bail warrants, according to a news release from the Chico Police Department.

Manning pleaded no contest to oral copulation of a person under 14, possession of more than 600 images of child/youth pornography and two counts of solicitation of a minor to engage in preparation of sexual images on June 30, 2016, in Butte County Superior Court.

He was out of jail after posting a bail of $215,000, but had a sentencing hearing scheduled Oct. 6, 2016.

Manning never made it to that hearing.

According to Chico police, a car rented in Manning’s name was found Oct. 7, 2016, by National Park Service officers near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

A suicide note in Manning’s handwriting was found in the car, but his body was not found.

Police investigators apparently didn’t buy it.

“Investigators began to monitor the behavior and patterns of a close associate of Manning and observed what appeared to be sophisticated counter surveillance measures,” according to the news release.

Chico detectives requested help from the U.S. Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force and the FBI.

Detectives think that on multiple occasions, they narrowly missed catching Manning, including one time at Fortman Marina in Alameda. They also think his associate may have been involved in trying to get Manning international travel.

“Residences, storage facilities and vehicles tied to Manning’s associate were frequently found full of personal property, and hastily abandoned,” Chico police said in the release.

Last month, the Marshal’s Service developed leads indicating Manning could be in Florida.

But it was Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies who caught Manning.

Deputies responded to a burglar alarm at a business at the Stock Island Marina near Key West, Florida. They located a man living in a connex storage container next to the property.

According to Chico police, he identified himself as William Wallace Littlejohn and had a U.S. Passport and U.S. Navy identification card. The deputies thought the passport and ID card were fake and requested assistance from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Border Patrol and the FBI. When those were found to be fraudulent, the man was arrested.

At the Monroe County Jail, the man’s fingerprints were taken and positively identified Manning, according to the release.

The original charges stemmed from an investigation in September 2015 when a victim reported being sexually assaulted in 2008-2009 when she was 12 to 14 years old. Search warrants served at Manning’s home turned up child pornography.