The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday evening that a wanted suspect has been taken into custody following a reported kidnapping.
During late hours on Sunday, July 2, deputies received a report of an adult female being forced into a vehicle by a 35-year-old Mecosta County resident. The suspect then fled the area and released the victim on the side of the road approximately an hour and a half later in northwestern Mecosta County.
With the help of a BOL through Mecosta County dispatch and additional information about the suspect and the vehicle, deputies were able to locate the suspect and vehicle at a residence in southeastern Montcalm County. Following obtaining search and arrest warrants, Mecosta and assisting Montcalm County deputies were able to search the residence, locate the suspect, and talk the suspect out of the residence with help by negotiators of the Newaygo County Emergency Response Team. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident and lodged at the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office on multiple charges.
The suspect was known by the victim and was wanted at the time on two felony charges. The female victim had been picked up by a passerby and returned to her residence with minor injuries.
The Mecosta County Sheriff's Office was assisted in the investigation by the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office, Newaygo County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team, Meceola Central Dispatch, and the Michigan State Police. The identity of the suspect is being held pending formal arraignment in the 77th District Court.