Columbia Plateau Wheat Harvest

An Oregon man was urged to go back home after he was allegedly spotted taking pictures of a wheat field while naked.

(The Oregonian/File/2013)

An Oregon man spotted taking pictures in a central Kansas wheat field "with nothing on but a hat and a smile" got a lesson in Midwestern standards of decency when he was told to go home to his more "liberal" state.

It all started when a woman near an outlet mall in Walton, Kansas, called police after spotting the nude man, according to a Facebook account posted Wednesday by the Harvey County Sheriff's Office. He was in the field with a friend, both in their early 20s.

Walton is about 30 miles north of Wichita with a population of about 230 people.

An undersheriff approached the two out-of-towners and "explained to them that Kansas is not as liberal as Oregon and suggested they continue their travels back to their home state," according to the post. The naked man was wearing boxers by the time police arrived.

The two were allowed to leave without facing charges.

"It's not illegal to be in the nude providing you are not trying to arouse yourself or others," the sheriff's office said. "Disorderly conduct? Possibly, since it did offend the witness who had children with her."

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey