A rural Great Bend man was in custody Tuesday afternoon after a woman sent a text message that she’d been kidnapped. The 43-year-old man was stopped in Ellis County by the Kansas Highway Patrol and arrested on outstanding warrants. Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said the suspect had been transported back to the Barton County Jail and the county attorney’s office was reviewing the case Wednesday afternoon to see if new charges should be filed stemming from Tuesday’s incident.

The woman sent a text message to a Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputy at 5:08 p.m. According to the sheriff, she said she was taken against her will, and was not allowed to leave the vehicle.

Reports show she said the vehicle was headed to Norton and that she believed the man would try to kill her.
Kansas Highway Patrol stopped the vehicle at 5:43 p.m. on Interstate 70.

Bellendir said officers also seized a 9 mm handgun. This also may lead to new charges as the suspect has a 2009 Barton County drug conviction. His sentence expired in 2013.
The Great Bend Tribune has declined to print the man’s name until charges are filed.