HPD

During today’s flooding in Hays at 11:34 a.m., Hays police officers were dispatched to a report of a man stealing another person’s 1997 Ford Explorer in front of Southside Convenience Store at 703 Vine Street.

The man who stole the vehicle drove south on Vine Street and left the vehicle in a field south of Hays.

The Kansas Highway Patrol, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office and the Hays Police Department established a perimeter and began searching for the man. The man was tracked down and apprehended by a Kansas Highway Patrol K9.

He was later identified as 24 year old Dru A. Stropes. Stropes was arrested for felony theft of a vehicle and is currently in the Ellis County Jail, according to a news release from the Hays Police Department.

Stropes is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.