WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The pilot of a small Cessna 172 aircraft reported stolen from a Canadian flight school has been captured , authorities said . The pilot was flying a plane similar to this one -- a Cessna 172 -- before he landed in Missouri . The pilot reportedly stole a small Cessna 172 aircraft from a Canadian flight school , flew hundreds of miles across the Midwest , landed on a dirt road in Missouri late Monday and took off on foot , federal officials said . Federal , state and local authorities launched a manhunt for the pilot , who was identified by the FBI as Adam Leon , 31 , a native of Turkey who became a Canadian citizen last year , according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko . He was formerly known as Yavuz Berke , though officials did not indicate a reason for the name change . He was taken into custody at an Ellsinore grocery story after a brief manhunt , according to Missouri state police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police . A federal law enforcement source said the pilot parked the plane under what appeared to be a bridge or culvert , apparently in an attempt to hide it . The plane had been intercepted and tracked by U.S. military aircraft as it flew from Canada into U.S. airspace and meandered southward for several hours before landing , a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said . It landed in the town of Ellsinore , population 360 , in southern Missouri , a dispatcher with the Carter County Sheriff 's Office said . A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command -LRB- NORAD -RRB- said the pilot flew `` erratically '' over the course of the afternoon , at time reaching 14,000 feet in altitude , then dropping as low as 3,000 feet . The Cessna departed the school in Ontario at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later , according to NORAD officials . F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan 's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m. , and tracked the Cessna until its safe landing . The NORAD spokesman , Mike Kucharek , said military pilots who intercepted the Cessna had tried repeatedly to get the pilot 's attention and at one point , the pilot appeared to acknowledge that he saw the other aircraft . `` He looked at them , '' Kucharek said . But the pilot had not communicated with NORAD or the Federal Aviation Administration , Kucharek added later in the evening . At 9:20 p.m. , the pilot was believed to have had roughly 30 minutes of fuel left , Kucharek said . `` We do n't want to suppose the motive of the individual , '' Kucharek told CNN 's `` Anderson Cooper 360 '' after the landing . `` But it certainly made a day for the professional pilots that were flying these missions and a very serious situation from a NORAD perspective . '' Officials allowed the pilot `` to play his hand '' because they '' -LSB- did n't -RSB- want to provoke the situation , '' Kucharek said . A federal law enforcement official told CNN the pilot is a naturalized Canadian citizen , but declined to give his name or country of origin . The source said the pilot was a flight school student for a `` brief '' period and only clocked a few hours of flight time . Canadian officials have received some information that the pilot is `` not a happy individual , '' the official said . The Cessna departed at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later , according to NORAD officials . F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan 's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m. , and have tracked the Cessna since . Earlier in the evening , the Wisconsin National Guard deployed two F-16s of its own in an attempt to get the pilot to establish communications with FAA air traffic controllers . The state capitol in Madison , Wisconsin , was evacuated for less than an hour as a precaution . FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the plane was reportedly stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay , Canada , and the pilot had been identified as a student at the flight school . Both Lt. Cmdr. Gary Ross of NORAD and Brown of the FAA said the 14,000-feet altitude is above the level at which the FAA requires use of oxygen . Brown said it was not clear whether the Cessna had supplemental oxygen on board . Ross says the plane is a long-range version of a Cessna 172 . It was fully fueled , giving it about seven hours of flying time . Ross said if NORAD officials believe the aircraft poses a threat , `` we take seriously any intent to harm any of our citizens or critical infrastructure . '' He added that `` all options are on the table although we continue to move towards a resolution that does n't call for -LSB- lethal force -RSB- . '' CNN 's Jeanne Meserve , Adam Levine and Mike Ahlers contributed to this report .