A massive manhunt north of Sedan last Tuesday, Aug. 19, led to the arrest of two Kansas City, Kan., people.
Chautauqua County Sheriff Frank Green said Robert Lackner and Erin D. Fraser, both of Kansas City, remain in jail following their apprehension in a manhunt that involved a half dozen different law enforcement agencies in two states.
Lackner and Fraser are scheduled to appear in Chautauqua County Court at 9 a.m., Friday, Aug. 29, at which time formal charges will be presented to them.
Events began on Monday, Aug. 18, when the two Kansas City people were noticed in Bartlesville, Okla., stealing two John Deere Gator vehicles and a trailer from a business in that city. Bartlesville Police Department officers began a pursuit of the two individuals, who traveled to Bartlesville in a stolen vehicle from Jefferson County, Kan.
Lackner and Fraser drove to Pawhuska, Okla., via U.S. 60 with law enforcement trailing close behind. The two people then traveled north to Kansas on K-99 highway.
The pursuit then led to Sedan where the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department and Sedan City Police joined the chase. Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Osage County Sheriff’s Department, and the Kansas Highway Patrol also were in pursuit.
The chase meandered through several neighborhoods before the couple abandoned the vehicle in a rural area north of Sedan.
Green said Fraser was apprehended shortly after abandoning the vehicle, however Lackner entered a heavily wooded area.
Specially-trained canines were used in the search for Lackner, and Green said a perimeter extended from Kansas Road to Quivira Road and Lariat Road was set up. Several dozen law enforcement officers then began combing the pastures and timber areas in search for Lackner. The canines exhausted their efforts after eight hours of search. Lackner was eventually spotted some 10 hours later after abandoning his vehicle in a densely wooded area, his body covered with scratches and a myriad of insect bites.
Green said Lackner and Fraser were booked into the Chautauqua County Jail early Wednesday, Aug. 20. Fraser was sent to the Cowley County Jail. Both people remain jailed on $100,000 bond each.
Green said he was still gathering information on the number of charges against the couple, however he said the list would be quite lengthy considering the number of crimes that they allegedly committed in four counties in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Besides facing charges in two states, Lackner also is wanted by the State of Kansas. Lackner, 39, had served time in the Kansas prison system after being convicted of robbery in Johnson Couny in 1997. He was paroled in 2000 before being convicted in 2003 for a robbery incident in Johnson County one year earlier.
Lackner was paroled in 2007 but has had a warrant for his arrest since February 2008 due to probation violation.
Green said the search for Lackner and Fraser required the efforts of several dozen law enforcement officials.
“It was a pretty tense time because we had been told that both people were armed with weapons,” he said. “And, the fact that they took law enforcement on a high speed chase clear from Bartlesville shows the type of people they are.”
Ironically, failure to be awakened by an alarm clock played a role in their apprehension. Green said Lackner and Fraser were spending the night at a Bartlesville motel before leaving the city the next morning to sell the stolen John Deere vehicles. However, failure by Lackner and Fraser to set their alarm clock in their motel room allowed Bartlesville police extra time to find their vehicle and begin an investigation.
Once they awakened, the two people discovered that they were being sought by Bartlesville police. That’s when the pursuit began, eventually ending in rural Chautauqua County.
“It made for an interesting day,” said Green.
