Ok.
Let's say there is a fellow that was arrested in Iowa for:

Possession Of A Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine.hydrochloride, 3/4 gram already in a syringe)
Two counts of paraphernalia.
The POS was a serious misdemeanor.
And the two paraphernalia charges were simple misdemeanors.
Well, this fellow accepted a plea bargain for 30 days IN/P rehab.
And a suspended sentence of 365 days.
and 365 days of probation.

Well he was never told that he would be REQUIRED by law to attend another year of IN/P rehab aftercare.
And another one year of OUT/P rehab aftercare thereafter.
Followed by one year of probation.
So, when this quite flighty fellow that swim knows found this information out he escaped rehab.
And he received another charge for "escape or absence from custody (Convicted of misdemeanor)"
So, this fellow has warrants for two serious misdemeanors, and two simple misdemeanors.

If this fellow were to be pulled over in Missouri and have his license ran, would he be extradited?
Or detained?
I mean... Would they really spend that much money to extradite a misdemeanor fugitive?

He'd most certainly be detained by law enforcement anywhere in the country - for the 15 to 20 minutes or so that it takes for the detaining agency to contact the entering agency, and the entering agency to retrieve their copy of the warrant to confirm that the warrant is still active and if they will extradite or not. If they will, he gets arrested and sits in jail until the entering agency makes arrangements for transport (anywhere from a day to several weeks). If Iowa won't extradite, the detaining agency cuts him loose on the spot, waves goodbye, says "have a nice day", and he'll go through that process over and over anywhere in the country until the warrant is taken care of.

Extradition is handled on a case by case basis. The distance they're willing to extradite for USUALLY is smaller for misdemeanors, larger for felonies. In the case of MULTIPLE charges, of any degree, anything is possible. Could be Iowa only, could be adjoining states only, could be anything on one side of the Mississippi river but not the other, or could be nationwide. Since his particular situation involves ditching a court ordered program AND multiple charges, it's easy to assume that the judge would be less than thrilled, and odds for a larger area of extradition are probably on the table. The only way to know for sure is for him to have his attorney contact the agency in question and find out. (And when they extradite, the arrested party often sees part of the cost in the form of court fees.) In addition to the charges you mention, there's also probably a violation of probation charge outstanding now as well.

__________________
While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

I completely agree with aardvarc on this one.