OCTOBER 22, 2024 |
Photo – Suspect vehicle in child abduction case – Courtesy WHP
Wyoming law enforcement agencies, over the weekend, stopped a suspected child abduction case that began in South Dakota.
At approximately 11:30 on Sunday morning, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers responded to a call regarding a missing and endangered juvenile from South Dakota. The 13-year-old female was believed to be in the custody of an adult male.
Highway Patrol troopers located the suspect vehicle, a blue 2020 Kia Sportage, four miles north of Rawlins on Highway 287. Troopers stopped the vehicle but the driver, identified as 33-year-old Sean Carlos Payne of Omaha, Nebraska, fled south, toward the city, with the juvenile in the passenger seat.
The Kia reportedly drove at speeds of approximately 100 mph before reaching Rawlins’ city limits.
The Meade County South Dakota Sheriff’s Office quickly identified Payne as a suspect, stating that the juvenile female was reported missing around 7:30 Sunday morning from a rural area in the state.
Payne is a registered sex offender who is wanted in Nebraska for enticing a minor, 3rd degree assault, making terroristic threats, assault by strangulation or suffocation, and a 3rd degree domestic violence charge.
Before an Amber Alert could be issued, Wyoming Highway Patrol spotted Payne’s Kia Sportage north of Rawlins. Following a brief pursuit through the city, Highway Patrol troopers used a Tactical Vehicle Intervention on the suspect’s vehicle. A Tactical Vehicle Intervention, also known as a PIT Maneuver, involves the officer turning into the rear side of a fleeing vehicle to spin it and end the pursuit.
Neither Payne nor the juvenile were injured during the chase. Payne was arrested and the 13-year-old female was placed into protective custody with the Wyoming Department of Family Services.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol has charged Payne with kidnapping, interference with a peace officer, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, speeding at 94 miles-per-hour in a 30-mph zone, and eluding. The suspect is currently being held in the Carbon County Detention Center and is likely to face additional charges.
Because Payne crossed state lines and involved multiple jurisdictions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Rawlins Police Department, Bureau of Land Management law enforcement, the Wyoming Department of Family Services, and other assisting community partners.
