A massive search for a fugitive is over after a local hunter tracked down a father who is the prime suspect in the murders of his three children.

Kim Robinson captured 40-year-old roofer Allan Dwayne Schoenborn on the outskirts of Merritt, B.C., not far from where the bodies of the three children were found by their mother more than a week ago.

"I didn't even think it was him at first," Robinson told CTV News on Wednesday. "He just looked like a piece of skin wrapped over bones."

"He looked like he was whupped," Robinson said. "He was done, and so was his dog."

Robinson was led to the fugitive by a man out for a walk with his dog at about 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, police said in a press conference.

Schoenborn, 40, is now in the police cells in Merritt, a ranching community about 270 kilometers northeast of Vancouver.

"I think a lot of people are going to be relieved," said Gary Derksen, a neighbour of the children. "There were a lot of people on edge on the whole thing. Being out in the woods or not knowing where he was.

"Now that he's been caught people feel some relief," Derksen added.

Schoenborn had been at large since last Sunday, and while police received 308 tips from the public, there had been no confirmed sightings until Wednesday.

The mother of the children, Darcie Clarke, called police to her home on April 6. The children -- 10-year-old Kaitlynne, eight-year-old Max, and five-year-old Cordon -- were dead.

B.C.'s Attorney-General Wally Oppal said the province owes a debt to Robinson.

"I don't think the fact that somebody did their duty as a citizen means that they're a vigilante," he said. "I think we owe a debt to the person who got involved. I think all the people up there deserve credit.

The police should be commended for the capture as well, said Oppal.

"The fact he may have been apprehended by the trapper doesn't mean the police have no role in it," he told CTV News. "The police organized the manhunt and they're under very difficult circumstances.

"Having said that you can't forget this person is innocent. He hasn't been charged yet. I expect he will be. But he's entitled to the same protection under our laws as anyone else," Oppal said.

Kurt Mohr, Robinson's neighbour, said the outdoorsman has been looking for Schoenborn "pretty much since he took off."

Mohr said the 50-year-old Robinson knows the bush "like the back of his hand" and was passionate about finding the main suspect in the triple slaying.

"If Kim's looking for you, he's going to find you," said Mohr. "He's like a guy stuck in time. He should be back in the wild west days."

Schoenborn was arrested at his children's school a few days before the killings and was charged with uttering threats. A justice of the peace released Schoenborn on bail, unaware of a peace bond that restricted Schoenborn's contact with his wife.

Schoenborn was arrested two other times the week before the children's deaths.

The investigation had been controversial, with RCMP saying when they discovered the children that they had no suspect, and no one was in custody.

But more than 20 hours later, police announced they had launched a manhunt for their prime suspect.

The next Wednesday, employees at a story near Lumby, B.C., reported that they had seen Schoenborn. But it wasn't until CTV News reported the story that RCMP officers interviewed the employees.

A former RCMP detective criticized the investigation in an interview with CTV News on Monday.

"Honestly I don't know why it took so long to put out that kind of general alert," said Bill Majcher, a retired RCMP officer.

The RCMP has conceded that the tip was followed up improperly, but say it was an isolated incident.

A coroner's inquest has already been announced into the deaths.

With files from The Canadian Press