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Biggggg Mike Considered Dangerous

Updated: Thursday, February 28 2013, 08:08 PM EST
COLUMBUS – The hunt for a wanted fugitive on the campus of The Ohio State University became the top trend in Columbus on social media as some students are wanting to give him a place to hide.

Michael Moses Tarpeh, 23, has been charged with a series of violent crime like armed robbery, attempted sexual assault and carjacking on college campuses in West Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts.   Tracking him on social media shows pictures of him on these campuses within the last few months but social media also states his goal is to become “the next big reality star.”

Tarpeh calls himself “Bigggggg Mike” on social media and Wednesday he posted a picture of himself and OSU student Amanda Furrer showing he was in Columbus. 

Furrer is a sharp shooter and competed in the Olympics last summer in London.  She emailed ABC6/FOX28 about the photo stating, “We were at 4th street patio Tuesday night. He was standing behind me while I was on my phone and saw that I was verified on twitter. He started asking questions about why I was verified and found out I went to the Olympics. He was super excited about it and asked to take pictures with me. Yesterday morning he tweeted me asking me to tag him in one of the pictures. Apparently somebody recognized him and contacted authorities. He was just another bubbly outgoing guy out having a good time with his friends. It just goes to show that you don't really know who people are and you need to be aware of the people around you.”

Campus police issued a safety alert to all students Wednesday night after the picture was taken about Tarpeh and his charges.

"He has some personality.  I can definitely tell by his tweets," said sophomore Samantha Petraglia Thursday who is now one of many students following Tarpeh on Twitter.

Some of his tweets Thursday include, “Tell mommy I made it,” “Who’s credit cards am I stealing tonight?” and “The OSU police… That’s like LeBron vs. a fan.. they have no chance against me.”

"This is scary with our police on campus,” said Petraglia.  “He's right here and no one has caught him yet."

While some students are tweeting Tarpeh their phone numbers and addresses, ABC6/FOX28 called one of those numbers.  It was OSU police on the other end.

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Reporter: Lisa Rantala
Web Producer: Kellie HannaBiggggg Mike Considered Dangerous