     A man wanted on child sex crime charges in Colorado apparently committed suicide Thursday night in a field in Scotts Bluff County following a police chase.
The name of the man has not been released, pending notification of family.
The incident began shortly before 11:00 when a Scotts Bluff Sheriff’s deputy located the suspect’s vehicle at a convenience store on the north end of Scottsbluff. The deputy tried to make contact with the man, but he fled north on Hwy 71 and a pursuit began.
The deputy said that during the chase, the suspect fired several shots toward him. The suspect turned west on Experiment Farm Road and headed toward Mitchell, but a Mitchell police officer was able to set up spike strips and flatten the vehicle’s tires.
The suspect got out and fled on foot into a field to the south. The deputy, the Mitchell officer, and a State Trooper followed but backed off and set up a perimeter when the man fired at them.
The Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office deployed a drone over the area and it immediately located the suspect lying in the field.
Using a patrol car as a shield, deputies approached the man – only to find him dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The investigation is continuing and a grand jury will eventually be called. Nebraska law requires a grand jury investigation whenever a death occurs while in custody or in the process of arrest.