A man who was wanted in connection with the rape and kidnapping of a woman in rural Tippecanoe County shot and killed himself during a standoff in Boone County on Thursday, authorities said.

"We did everything we could to save his life and mitigate the life of our safety personnel who were out there today," Boone County Sheriff Mike Neilsen said.

The Boone County Sheriff's Office said officers pulled over Paul Etter on Ind. 39 around 300 North at 1:25 p.m.

Nielsen said Etter shot himself twice shortly after 6 p.m. when a SWAT team approached his vehicle.

"We’ve used a lot of restraint today to end this situation," Nielsen said. "Unfortunately, it didn’t end as we wanted it to end."

How the standoff started

Garst said earlier that officers stopped Etter after Lebanon police saw a vehicle that matched the description of a stolen vehicle.

"At the time of the stop, Mr. Etter presented a gun," Garst said.

Etter refused to obey officers' commands and put a handgun to his head, Lt. Ben Phelps, Lebanon police spokesman. Etter then drove his vehicle into a field, he said.

Officers set up a perimeter. Boone County, Lebanon police, the U.S. Marshal Service and Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office negotiated with Etter for almost five hours in a field off of Ind. 39.

"Through the conversation, his demeanor, he had his mind made up as to how it was going to end," Phelps said. "We tried everything we could to provide some resources and resolve it peacefully but unfortunately, he had his mind made up."

The standoff closed Ind. 39 south of Indiana 47 between Boone County Roads 300 North and 375 North.

Officials said Etter did not make any advancements toward law enforcement.

Neilsen said law enforcement shot the tires of Etter's vehicle to disable it, but did not fire any shots fired directly at him.

"One of the most important pieces is not only to make sure he was safe, our officers were safe, but the public was safe," he said. "We did that without any harm to Mr. Etter as well."

Tippecanoe City Sheriff Bob Goldsmith said earlier Thursday that it was not clear why Etter was in Boone County or if he had been in contact with his family.

After a week of searching for Etter, Goldsmith said "it feels good" to have it come to an end.

"It's unfortunate it came to an end this way, but ... everyone is safe and we're all going home."

Woman abducted and sexually assaulted

Etter, 55, is accused of abducting a 26-year-old woman about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, sexually assaulting her and holding her captive on his family's farm in Tippecanoe County, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Goldsmith told the Journal & Courier that the woman had pulled over in rural Tippecanoe County because of a flat tire when she was abducted. Etter is accused of taking her to a remote area near his home and a Girl Scout camp and sexually assaulting her.

About 5 p.m., Etter allegedly drove the woman to a residence and let her out, and she called police, Goldsmith said.

Investigators in Tippecanoe County had been searching for Etter since Saturday evening. The Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department put out statewide alerts to law enforcement agencies asking them to be on the lookout for him in case he left the area.

On Tuesday, Tippecanoe County prosecutors filed formal charges against Etter on Tuesday. He faced charges of rape, attempted rape, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of criminal confinement, sexual battery and interfering with reporting a crime.

Journal & Courier reporter Ron Wilkins contributed.

Contact IndyStar reporter London Gibson at 317-444-6043 or lbgibson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @londongibson.