News

*Updated with injured deputy’s name

Law enforcement officials are looking for an escapee from the Clarinda Correctional Facility, Rodney Eugene Long. Officers believe Long is the individual who shot a Taylor County deputy late Sunday, August 18, 2013 and subsequently led law enforcement on a 40 minute pursuit.

Officials are urging the public to be cautious and observant. Long is considered armed and dangerous. If you see Long, do not approach him yourself but rather, contact authorities immediately. Long is described as a white male, 38 years old with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 144 pounds. He has tattoos on his wrists.

Long escaped from the minimum custody lodge in the early morning hours of Friday, August 16, 2013. Personal items left in the stolen patrol vehicle indicate that Long is the individual that officials are searching for.

Sunday evening, at approximately11:25 PM, Taylor County deputies were dispatched to a “suspicious person” walking along Highway 2 just east of New Market. As the first deputy was exiting his vehicle to speak with the individual, he was met with gunfire and struck twice. As the deputy was taking cover, the suspect took the patrol vehicle and left the scene. A second Taylor County deputy arrived on scene, picked up the wounded deputy and began to pursue the suspect in the stolen patrol car.

A pursuit ensued for approximately 40 minutes through rural Taylor County. Officers from several different jurisdictions, including Missouri, responded to the area. Gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and officers during the course of the pursuit. The pursuit ended when the suspect rolled the stolen patrol vehicle several times on a rural Taylor County road. He was able to exit the vehicle and escape on foot. A manhunt, involving at least a dozen different law enforcement agencies from Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, has been underway since moments after the crash.

As the search for the suspect in Taylor County continues, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) confirms the Sheriff’s Deputy who was shot late Sunday night is 33 year old Dan Wyckoff. Wyckoff, a two year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, remains hospitalized, but is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.