After a vehicle chase began in Butler County, law enforcement from Emporia, Lyon County and the Kansas Highway Patrol arrested four people just west of Emporia on Wednesday.
Butler County will have more information about how the chase originated, but Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says Lyon County deputies were alerted as the chase got into northeast Butler County and then into Chase County along the Kansas Turnpike.
Initially, local authorities thought there were four suspects, but there was a brief time where law enforcement believed the two suspects arrested initially were the only two involved — so they called off a search that had been set up from Road 170 south to 140 and from Road F west to E, only to have citizens report two rounds of suspicious activity. The first report came near Roads 160 and F, shortly after authorities called off the search around 5 pm. The suspect ran into a nearby tree line but was captured. The second report came around 8 pm near Roads 160 and G, with the suspect surrendering shortly after law enforcement arrived.
Suspect names have not been released. Emporia Police officers, Lyon and Butler county deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers were involved in this incident along with the Reading Benefit Fire drone unit.
Cope says this incident was relatively unique because there wasn’t a solid report on the number of potential suspects as the case unfolded. He says residents immediately south and west of Emporia were alerted about the situation and asked to keep watch for suspicious activity. He credited residents for heeding that advice and stepping up when they saw things out of the ordinary.
8:45 pm Wednesday: Fourth suspect arrested outside Emporia after chase starting in Butler County
Thanks to citizen reports of suspicious activity, a third and fourth suspect allegedly connected to a Butler County vehicle pursuit were arrested outside Emporia on Wednesday evening.
Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says suspicious activity reports started coming in shortly before 8 pm near Roads 160 and G. The suspect was arrested shortly after deputies arrived.
Citizen reports of suspicious activity also led to the arrest of a third suspect shortly after 6 pm near Roads 160 and F. The suspect fled from authorities into a nearby tree line but was eventually captured.
Butler County will have more information about how the chase originated, but Cope says Lyon County deputies were alerted as the chase got into northeast Butler County and then into Chase County along the Kansas Turnpike. Plans to deploy stop sticks at the Flint Hills cattle pens 17 miles southwest of Emporia were changed and the stop sticks were used about five miles southwest of Emporia instead. The vehicle stopped on the Turnpike near Roads 160 and G, where the four suspects ditched the vehicle. Two were arrested shortly after the vehicle stopped, with the other two captured several hours later.
Cope says residents immediately south and west of Emporia were alerted about the situation and asked to keep watch for suspicious activity. He credited residents for heeding that advice and stepping up when they saw things out of the ordinary.
7:30 pm Wednesday: Chase originating in Butler County leads to three arrests outside Emporia
Local authorities arrested a third suspect after a chase starting in Butler County and ending just west of Emporia on Wednesday.
Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says two people had been arrested shortly after a vehicle pursuit from Butler County ended on the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia. The third suspect was arrested several hours later after a citizen noted a suspicious person near Roads 160 and F. Cope says the suspect ran into a nearby tree line and was captured shortly afterward.
Names have not been released. Butler County deputies have not released information about where the chase started, how it developed or who was involved.
For a time, law enforcement thought there were four suspects — the two initially arrested and two, possibly armed, that may have gotten away. As a result, authorities set up a perimeter involving Roads E to F west to east and Roads 140 to 170 south to north. Around 5 pm, authorities believed the two suspects arrested initially were the only people allegedly involved before the citizen report of suspicious activity.
5 pm Wednesday: Two arrested near Emporia after chase originating in Butler County
Two people have been arrested near Emporia after a vehicle pursuit that developed in Butler County on Wednesday.
Butler County deputies have not released information about where the chase started, how it developed or who was involved. Initially, there was a concern as many as two others — potentially armed — had escaped, but Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says all current indications are the two people initially arrested are the only people involved in this incident. As a result, a search just southwest of Emporia has been called off.
Emporia Police officers, Lyon and Butler county deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers have been involved in the search. Cope still encourages people to call authorities if they anything suspicious.
Stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for additional updates.
