BACA COUNTY, Colo. – Two Kansas residents were arrested Friday in Baca County, Colo. after twice fleeing from police this week when authorities attempted to arrest them for outstanding warrants.

According to a media release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Nicholas D. Moody, 40, of Ulysses, had three warrants issued for his arrest. The warrants were out of Grant County for two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of distribution of marijuana. Brandy K. Shoemaker, 38, of Ulysses, had a warrant out of Finney County for absconding from community corrections.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, the two were observed leaving Liberal, Kan., traveling north on Highway 83 in a tan colored Toyota passenger car. Moody was driving and Shoemaker was a passenger in the vehicle. At approximately 9:45 p.m., a traffic stop was initiated by the Kansas Highway Patrol, and Moody and Shoemaker fled the scene. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Finney County Sheriff’s Office, the Haskell County Sheriff’s Office, the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, and the Liberal Police Department responded to help locate the vehicle. Despite a short pursuit, they were able to elude police.

On Friday, Sept. 27, information was received by the KBI that indicated that Moody and Shoemaker might be in Baca County, Colo. The KBI gained the valuable assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Baca County Sheriff’s Office to help locate the offenders.

Friday, at approximately 9 a.m. MDT, the FBI, the KBI, and the Baca County Sheriff’s Office located Moody and Shoemaker. The offenders again fled authorities, so the FBI, and the Baca County Sheriff’s Office engaged in a vehicle pursuit for approximately 15 miles until the two surrendered near a ravine northwest of Springfield, Colo.

The Baca County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI took Moody and Shoemaker into custody, and they were booked into the Baca County Jail. Extradition proceedings are expected. Nothing further will be released at this time.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 76-year-old Kansas man has pleaded guilty to trying to rape a 4-year-old girl.

Galen Hurt, of Linwood, pleaded Thursday in Leavenworth County court to attempted rape and aggravated child endangerment.

Hurt was originally charged in 2018 with rape of a child. Investigators say the girl told her mother that Hurt touched her inappropriately while she was at his house.

Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said his decision to offer the plea out of consideration for the girl, who is now 6.

SALINE COUNTY — According to a media release from the Saline County Sheriff, just after 7:30a.m. Friday, deputies responded to a belated suspicious activity call that occurred in the 600 block of East Shipton Road in Saline County.

A juvenile, waiting on his bus in that area, reported he was approached by a white or possibly Hispanic male and ordered to get in the man’s vehicle. The juvenile ran away and the vehicle fled the scene.

A short time later, a bus driver observed the suspect vehicle driving in the area. The Sheriff’s Office immediately saturated the area, conducting traffic stops on vehicles matching the description, but the suspect is still outstanding.

The male suspect has been described as a shorter, medium-built, white or Hispanic male with dark hair (possibly black), which appeared combed to the side and appeared to be over his ears. The suspect possibly had a dark goatee or facial hair and a scruffy appearance. The suspect was wearing a white tank top and had a gold necklace around his neck. The suspect was described as having tattoos on both arms and he spoke with a low, scratchy voice.

The suspect vehicle has been described as a dark-colored, possibly black or dark green, older model four-door passenger car with tinted windows. The vehicle was covered in dust and very dirty. The vehicle’s appearance was described as similar to an older model Pontiac Grand Prix or Grand Am or an older model Buick LeSabre.

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SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating report of a man who allegedly tried to lure a grade-school boy into his car just before 7:30 a.m. Friday in Saline County.

A Bennington school bus driver reported that when she stopped in the 600 block of East Shipton Road to pick up a student, the boy told her that a man tried to lure him into a car, according to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.

The school bus driver did not see the driver but saw the car described as a dirty black or dark green 1980s Pontiac Grand Prix or Grand Am.

The boy had come down the drive to wait for the bus when the car pulled up.

When the man, who the boy described as a scruffy white male in his late 30s, attempted to lure the boy into the car, the boy started running back to his house until he saw the school bus pull up.

Soldan asked that anyone in the area with home surveillance video to please check the video for the car described and to contact the Saline County Sheriff’s Office at 785-826-6500 if their video captured images of the car.

MITCHELL COUNTY —During a Wednesday traffic stop, a Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office K-9 located 40 pounds of marijuana and cash.  Deputies also made an arrest.

 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged theft.

A theft occurred on September 5, at the Hidden Lake Golf Course, according Lt. Tim Myers with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities believed 23-year-old Sedgwick County Detention Deputy Alexander Whiteman took a range finder from the pro shop. During the investigation into the theft of the range finder, it was discovered Whiteman also took $320 in U.S. currency from a residence on the same day, according to Myers.

A warrant for Whiteman’s arrest was issued Friday and he was taken into custody on requested charges of theft. Whiteman has been employed by the Sheriff’s Office for approximately 2 years and 2 months.

He has been placed on administrative leave.