A police standoff at a house in Gering that began more than 16 hours ago was still continuing at 7:30 am with FBI hostage negotiators joining local and state law enforcement officers and a SWAT team.
A male suspect is believed to have 1 female hostage, possibly a relative by marriage, but no names have been released.
The Gering school district has canceled all classes today out of what it calls “an abundance of caution” because the safety of staff and students is the priority. A decision will be made in the early afternoon about after-school practices.
Scottsbluff Police Captain Jason Rogers told KNEB News the incident started with a pursuit by Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s deputies along Five Rocks Road during which shots were fired by the suspect.
The chase continued on city streets before the man abandoned his vehicle about 3:30 and went into the house occupied by a woman and her 2 daughters. The mother is reportedly related to the man by marriage and the girls were released about 5:00
Scottsbluff police, the Nebraska State Patrol, Gering police, and National Park Service officers all responded with the county SWAT team and Scottsbluff Police Bomb Squad trailer and robots activated. The neighborhood was blocked off and evacuated with power to the area cut.
Gering schools were put on lockdown, with 3 grade schools and the middle school moving to a controlled release a short time later and the high school to secure status. A controlled release for the high school took place shortly after 5:00.
Captain Rogers told KNEB that the FBI was eventually called with agents making contact with the man inside the home throughout the early morning hours and the female hostage contacting family members about 12:45 a-m.
Early in the standoff, the suspect opened a live Facebook feed and KNEB reporter Ryan Murphy said he heard gunshots shortly after the children were released from the house, but Captain Rogers said that as of 3:30, no one had been hurt.
Concerning this standoff article, we now we know that the Gering Police Department can and will call in the FBI. Please let the FBI take over the Chance Engelbert case! He has been missing since July 6, 2018. He was last seen in Gering. PLEASE GPD, it’s time to find out what happened to Chance!
The following story again shows the work of the FBI yields success.
Fox News Digital
FBI arrest Kentucky man in Crystal Rodgers 2015 disappearance
Greg Norman By Greg Norman , Chris Eberhart Fox News
Published September 27, 2023 11:37am EDT
The FBI and Kentucky State Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of the former boyfriend of Crystal Rogers, a mother who vanished in 2015 and is presumed dead.
Rogers’ missing persons case was taken over by the FBI in 2020, when more than 150 law enforcement officers conducted interviews and executed several federal search warrants in a quest for answers.