Several major happenings have kept Kansas Highway Patrol troopers busy the last few weeks. The annual Country Stampede music festival kept troopers busy June 21-24. The July 4th holiday period also kept Patrol personnel busy with traffic, as well as helping motorists in the heat wave that has been present the last few weeks.

During the Country Stampede enforcements, KHP units had the following activity:

• DUI Arrests, Alcohol: 37
• Open Container Citations: 8
• Minor Consumption/Possession Citations: 15
• Driving While Suspended/Revolked Arrests: 6
• Felony Arrests: 3
• Injury Crashes: 4
• Non-Injury Crashes: 3
• Alcohol Related Crashes: 2
• Drug Related Incidents: 3
• Services Rendered/Motorists Assisted: 74
• Public Contacts: 423

Over the July 4th holiday reporting period, the Patrol worked two fatality accidents, which killed two people. Both of these crashes occurred in the Patrol’s Troop F (South Central Region), and alcohol was not a factor in either of the crashes. The reporting period ran from 6:00 pm on Tues., July 3, through 11:59 pm on Wed., July 4, 2012.

• DUI Arrests: 12
• Speed Arrests: 442
• Speed Warnings: 386
• Safety Belt – Adult Citations: 145
• Safety Belt – Adult Warnings: 18
• Safety Belt – Teen Citations: 9
• Safety Belt – Teen Warnings: 1
• Child Restraint Citations: 15
• Child Restraint Warnings: 2
• Motorists Assisted: 532

Barton County authorities have stopped searching for a parole violator last seen in central Kansas.

The Barton County Sheriff’s Department called off the search Sunday afternoon for Michael Aaron Jayne, who is wanted for a parole violation in Oregon.

Undersheriff Larry Holliday says that federal authorities confirmed Jayne was out of the area.

The 30-year-old Jayne reportedly led officers on a chase in Rooks County on Thursday night. A pickup stolen from Rooks County on Thursday was discovered near Cheyenne Bottoms on Friday. Another vehicle was reported stolen Friday evening from the Barton Hills area.

Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the search, using aircraft and police dogs.

The body of a man who was missing at Lake Afton has been recovered.

KFDI reports Sedgwick County authorities recovered the body about 6 a.m. Monday at the lake in south-central Kansas.

The man’s identity has not been released. Further details were not immediately available.

Sedgwick County authorities say witnesses saw the man go under the water and not resurface on Saturday evening.

Dive teams from the Wichita and Sedgwick County fire departments searched the lake for several hours Saturday and most of Sunday.

A 23-year-old southeast Kansas woman has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison in the April death of her newborn son.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Karen Marie Bailey of LeRoy was sentenced Thursday to 13 years and seven months in prison. She pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree murder and aggravated endangerment of a child.

Prosecutors say Bailey gave birth April 2 in her car and left the baby unattended there for several hours, which resulted in his death.

After searching for several hours, the Kansas Highway Patrol called off the search for a man wanted for a parole violation in Oregon.

Michael Jayne fled after a trooper stopped him for speeding on Highway 183 near Stockton Tuesday night.

The Highway Patrol was not able to locate Jayne and suspect he has left the area.

 

ORIGINAL STORY FROM JULY 4th – According to multiple reports, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper stopped a man for speeding on U.S. 183 south of Stockton about 5:30 Tuesday night. Shortly after the stop, the man sped away before getting out of the car and running into fields north of Stockton.

The U.S. Marshal’s office has identified the man as Michael Jayne, wanted for a parole violation in Oregon. He was convicted in 2009 of attempting to run over an Oregon State police officer at speeds of more than 70 mph, after a traffic stop.

Troopers and U.S. Marshals have been searching for the man have yet to locate him.

No further information has been released from local officials.

Associated Press Story from 2009 in Klamath Falls, Oregon:

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A driver whose body armor raised the suspicion of an Oregon state trooper led officers on a daylong chase and search in Southern Oregon.

Oregon State Police troopers say an officer stopped 27-year-old Michael Aaron Jayne of Redding, Calif., on Interstate 5 near Ashland early Thursday, noting the body armor.

But, they say, Jayne fled, driving east through the mountains toward Klamath Falls.

Later Thursday morning, troopers say, they spotted Jayne’s vehicle again and gave chase.

This time, they say, he twice tried to ram a cruiser at speeds of more than 70 mph before ditching the vehicle and taking off through the woods.

Dogs from Klamath County and a helicopter from Jackson County were enlisted in the search, to no avail.

Near nightfall, troopers say, they came upon Jayne walking along Oregon 66. Troopers described him as “bloody, muddy and wet” as he was taken into custody.

He was jailed on attempted murder and other charges, including wearing the body armor, which troopers say is unlawful for a felon.

Troopers say he’s wanted on a California warrant for intimidating a witness. Officers say they didn’t discover a weapon after the chase and haven’t determined why Jayne wore the protective equipment.

A Washington County couple each pleaded today to various child sex crimes, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Troy Jearald Fencil, 40, Greenleaf, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties and sexual exploitation of a child. Virginia Fencil, 30, Greenleaf, pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated criminal sodomy and two counts of aggravated endangerment of a child. All charges were felonies. Judge Kim W. Cudney accepted the pleas in Washington County District Court and adjudged both defendants guilty of the charges. Sentencing is scheduled for August 8 at 9 a.m.

Washington County Attorney Elizabeth Baskerville Hiltgen and Assistant Attorney General Christine Ladner prosecuted the case. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.

The mother of two boys police found locked in a dog kennel will serve two years of probation after pleading no contest to felony child abuse.

23-year-old Ashly Clark changed her plea on Monday. Several other charges were dropped.

Prosecutors made deals with Clark and three other defendants in the case after a judge ruled that some of what they told investigators couldn’t be used as evidence.

Police say they found Clark’s two boys sleeping in a wired-shut kennel last October inside a filthy home. Last week, 22-year-old Lacy Beyer and 26-year-old Bryson Eyten pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges and received one year of probation.

Similar charges are pending against 25-year-old Samantha Eyten, who is due in court on July 12.

A southwestern Kansas family has lost a beloved pet, but it should be easy to spot. After all, how many 130-pound tortoises could be on the loose in the area at one time?

Tony Lowery tells KWCH-TV that Leona – an African sulcata tortoise – and her male partner Puck broke out of their enclosure near Greensburg about a week ago. Puck turned up quickly, but Leona remains on the run.

The tortoises were about the size of hockey pucks when the family got them nearly 20 years ago. The African sulcata is 1 of the largest species of tortoise in the world, and the Lowerys’ two are still growing.

Tony Lowery says Leona could be at risk from traffic on nearby U.S. 54 and chemicals recently sprayed on farm fields.