A registered sex offender from Nebraska authorities call a "wanted predator" and suspected of abducting a 13-year-old girl was arrested near Rawlins on Sunday after leading Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers on a short chase.
The girl was found with him unhurt, according to the WHP and Meade County Sheriff’s Office in South Dakota.
The girl was reported missing in Meade County at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and by 11:50 a.m. had been found with her suspected kidnapper, Sean Carlos Payne, 33, of Omaha, Nebraska.
Wyoming troopers recognized Payne’s vehicle and description from information relayed by 911 dispatchers and tried to stop Payne, the WHP reports. When Payne tried to outrun the law, troopers were able to disable the vehicle.
The girl was recovered and Payne arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, reckless driving and eluding, as well as on other outstanding warrants out of Nebraska.
Those include charges of enticing a minor, third-degree assault terroristic threat, assault by strangulation or suffocation, and third-degree domestic violence assault causing injury.
Fast Response
The quick work in getting the word out, and the attentiveness of Wyoming dispatchers, helped locate Payne and the girl within hours, Meade County Sheriff Pat West said in a statement announcing the arrest.
“Just as an Amber Alert for the missing juvenile was about to be issued, the Wyoming Highway Patrol located the suspect,” the announcement says. “After a pursuit in the Rawlins, Wyoming, area, the Wyoming Highway Patrol was able to take the suspect into custody and save the missing juvenile.”
The sheriff credited the alert actions of dispatchers for getting the word out about the missing teen and for troopers looking out for Payne and his vehicle.
“Quick thinking by the 911 dispatchers, who sent messages to all surrounding states with possible vehicle descriptions, was the key to finding this kid,” West said. “We have some of the best on our team.”
Along with the WHP, the Rawlins Police Department and BLM Rangers were also “crucial” to capturing Payne and recovering the girl, the WHP reports.
What’s Next?
Payne was “quicky identified” as a suspect in the alleged abduction of the 13-year-old girl “through electronic communications,” the Meade County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The local sheriff’s office, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Fusion Center and South Dakota Highway Patrol “all began coordinating efforts to locate the suspect and missing juvenile,” according to the MCSO.
“The amount of resources that came to bear on this case in a short amount of time is once again a testament to the working cooperation between agencies across the state,” said Sheriff West. “Saving a young child from a wanted predator is a win for us today.”
Payne remained at the Carbon County Jail as of Monday morning.
Along with the charges out of South Dakota and Nebraska, West said Payne likely will face multiple charges in Wyoming as well.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
