A scene straight out of a circus strongman act unfolded in Costa Rica about 10 days ago. John Wesley Saatio, a citizen of the United States, tried to bend the prison bars of the cell he was thrown into after an investigation by a neighborhood watch group and police in the coastal community of Jaco Beach.

According to an official press release issued by Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica, Mr. Saatio is a registered sex offender and fugitive from Houghton County, located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a pristine and frosty region of the U.S.

Mr. Saatio was apprehended under an INTERPOL notice issued after he went on the lam while being transported to a court hearing in the Wolverine State.

According to a news brief posted by TV6, a news station in Upper Michigan, Mr. Saatio was charged with home invasion, destruction of police property, probation violations, and sex crimes. He is alleged to have broken into a Franklin Township home in May 2015.

One year after he absconded, Fuerza Publica officers assigned to the Garabito canton approached Mr. Saatio as he enjoyed drinks at a bar on the main strip of Jaco Beach, a spot frequented by many U.S. expats.

Mr. Saatio resisted arrest and caused an unpleasant scene at the bar. Once detained and in custody, he recreated a scene from the classic, black and white seasons of the Adventures of Superman television show starting the late George Reeves.

Mr. Saatio grabbed the bars that confined him within a grungy cell and attempted to bend them. Nonetheless, Fuerza Publica officers arrived at the time to transport him to the Directorate of Immigration to start the arrangements for his trip back to the U.S. He did not get away this time.