The case of a Douglas County probation officer charged with giving refuge to a wanted felon has a familial twist: The felon was his daughter-in-law.

Prosecutors allege Michael J. Pritchard, 63, broke the law by going too far in his efforts to help 33-year-old Susan A. Beaty-Bower, the wife of his stepson. Pritchard is accused of letting her stay at his home earlier this year even though he knew there was a warrant for her arrest.

Pritchard, whose job as a probation officer ended April 24, faces one charge of aiding a felon and one charge of illegally disclosing information about a warrant. Douglas County District Court officials on Thursday wouldn’t say whether Pritchard was fired or resigned.

According to court records, Beaty-Bower was convicted of forging checks in 1993 in Douglas County and has struggled with cocaine addiction. She and her husband moved to Colorado in 1999, but in March 2002 they moved back to Lawrence and occasionally stayed with Pritchard and his wife, who were raising the younger couple’s daughters, according to a court document.

In December, prosecutors learned Beaty-Bower was in Douglas County and was wanted in Colorado for failing to appear in a felony theft case. She also had pending charges of forgery and possession of cocaine in Douglas County dating from 1999 and 2000, respectively.

On Dec. 16, two days before she was scheduled to be in court, Pritchard spoke up for her in a letter to Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone.

“I have become very close to Sue in this time we have been together and have noticed a big change in her attitude and lifestyle,” he wrote.

Prosecutors had to drop their efforts to extradite Beaty-Bower to Colorado because they didn’t receive a governor’s warrant from Colorado within the required time frame. The forgery and drug cases also were dismissed because witnesses were unavailable.

Pritchard, scheduled to be in court June 9, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.