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Six-hour standoff ends with arrest in Hayes Center
HAYES CENTER, Neb. — A Hershey man accused of kidnapping a woman at gunpoint was taken into custody after a six-hour standoff in Hayes Center on Wednesday.
Robert Smith, 44, Hershey, faces charges of kidnapping and use of a firearm to commit a felony, false reporting and violating a protection order.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office, an adult female called the Lincoln County 911 center at 3:40 a.m. saying she had been abducted earlier in the evening at gunpoint and was now free.
Deputies responded to her location where she identified the suspect. She said he hid in the back seat of her car while she was at a friend’s house. When she got into her car, Smith pulled a gun on her and told her to drive out into rural Lincoln County.
According to the report, he eventually took her out of Lincoln county for a couple of hours and then returned her back to his vehicle parked by her friend’s house.
As the subject was believed to in Hayes Center, the NSP was notified just after 6 a.m. Wednesday and troopers went to the area, where his empty vehicle was located at about 8 a.m. at 315 Hayes Ave. in Hayes Center. He was believed to still be armed.
Authorities coordinated with Hayes Center Public Schools to ensure that those at the school were safe, given the location of the situation, approximately three blocks from the school.
After repeated communication with NSP negotiators for hours, Smith voluntarily exited the home at 2:45 p.m. and was taken into custody without incident.
— Correct suspect's residence.