PRESS RELEASE

07/01/2008

On July 1, 2008, at approximately 3:24 p.m., Thomas J. Rhodes III escaped from the Russell County Jail.  Rhodes had been arrested on the strength of a Russell County warrant.  While in process of booking Mr. Rhodes, he was able to get away from Correctional Staff and led officers on a foot chase through back yards in the City of Russell.  Officers from the Russell Police Department, Russell County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Ellis County
K-9 Units were able to locate and arrest Mr. Rhodes in the 200 block of N. Front in the City of Russell, KS.  Mr. Rhodes was arrested at 4:33 p.m. and was transported back to the Russell County Jail, where he faces Escape charges along with charges for Battery on Law Enforcement Officers.

Russell County Sheriff

John R. Fletcher

PRESS RELEASE

08/04/2008

On the evening of August 2, 2008, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a missing man at Wilson Lake.  Officers responded and began a ground and water search for Colby Callahan of Larned, KS.  Mar. Callahan had been attending a family reunion when he left to ride a jet ski on Lake Wilson.  He was last seen riding east from the Lucas Park boat ramp.  Later in the evening, family members located the jet ski beached on some rocks in Lucas Park.  The family removed the jet ski and later reports came in that Callahan had been seen walking in the area where the ski was located.  Officers from the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, State Wildlife and Parks, Kansas Emergency Management and Rural Fire Departments, along with family members began a ground search of the area.  Corps Rangers and Park Officers searched from the water.  The search was called off around 3:00 a.m. and resumed again around 6:00 a.m. the next day.  Requests were made for aircraft from the Air National Guard and Civil Air Patrol.  Numerous volunteers from surrounding counties and number Fire Departments responded and searches were made by foot, horse back, and ATVs of the entire park area.  Lincoln County Rescue Squad along with local divers searched the water in the coves near where the jet ski was located.  The search was called off again late in the day to give searches a chance to recover from the heat.  The Red Cross was on hand to provide searchers with water and food.  The search was again started around 8:00 a.m. on August 4th, with Kansas Wildlife and Parks and U.S. Army Corps boats using side scanning sonar.  Boats scanned the cove areas and open parts of the lake and divers searched positive hits from the sonar.  Kansas Highway Patrol aircraft searched the lake from the air while family searched the shoreline.  Mr. Callahan’s body surfaced and was spotted by a local fishing guide who was also searching the lake and called law enforcement.  His body was located about 100 yards southeast from the area where the jet ski was located out in open water.  Officers from the Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Wildlife and Parks located the body and pulled him from the lake.  Family confirmed the body was Callahan and he was transported from the lake for autopsy.

Russell County Sheriff

John R. Fletcher

PRESS RELEASE

11/21/2008

On November 21, 2008, at 8:54 a.m. Russell County Dispatch received a call of an industrial accident at the Lucas Coop Elevators.  Russell County Sheriff’s Officers along with the Russell County EMS were notified and responded.  Upon arrival it was determined that 25 year old Marion B. Kressley of Lucas had fallen from the top of the elevator.  Mr. Kressley was pronounced dead at the scene by the Russell County Deputy Coroner.  Mr. Kressley was employed by the elevator and had been doing maintenance on the elevator when the accident occurred.  An Autopsy will be conducted and the investigation is continuing.

Russell County Sheriff

John R. Fletcher

PRESS RELEASE

11/25/2008

There is another scam that is going through our community.  Nextech and other online auction and web pages have been subject to a company that is claiming to be selling Bull Dog puppies.  This company is out of South Africa and will take your money, but not sell you any puppies.  This is a scam and needs to be addressed by those who are interested in purchasing animals.  Check out any company before you send them any money.

Russell County Undersheriff

Max Barrett

PRESS RELEASE

01/19/2009

On the afternoon of January 19, 2009, officers of the Russell County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group executed a search warrant at 319 S. Main St. in Lucas, Kansas.  Information was obtained by the Sheriff’s Office of a possible Methamphetamine Lab at the residence.  Officers made entry at the location and took an adult female into custody.  An active methamphetamine Lab was located in the attic of the house.  Certified Meth Lab Techs from the Sheriff’s Office collected the lab and rendered the items safe.  Agents of HazMat Inc. were contacted along with KDH&E and responded to collect the hazardous materials for disposal.  The investigation is continuing in this case.

Russell County Sheriff

John R. Fletcher

PRESS RELEASE

01/29/2009

On Tuesday January 20, 2009, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the parents of a juvenile student at the Lucas High School.  The parents of a male student at the school alleged that the young man had been having a sexual relationship with a female teacher.  The Russell Coutny Sheriff’s Office along with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation began investigating the accusation and on January 29, 2009, an arrest warrant was issued for Nina Urban of Lucas, Kansas for Unlawful Sexual Relations, a violation of K.S.A. 21-3520.  Ms. Urban turned herself into the Russell County Sheriff’s Office on the 29th of January and the case has been turned over to the Russell County Attorney for prosecution.  Ms. Urban has been released on a $10,000 bond.

Russell County Sheriff

John R. Fletcher

PRESS RELEASE

09/08/2009

On the afternoon of September 7, 2009, at approximately 5:30 p.m. Russell County Dispatch received a call of an oilfield accident.  Dispatch was informed that the body of an adult male had been discovered at an oil lease in northwestern Russell County.  The identity of the man and cause of death are being withheld pending further investigation by the Russell County Sheriff’s office and Kansas Bureau of Investigations.

Sgt, Russell County Sheriff Department

Fred Whitman