A California man suspected of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and leading police on a manhunt across three states was caught in Las Vegas, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph Hetzel, 52, of Lompoc, was arrested just before 6 p.m. Tuesday and is being held without bail as an out-of-state fugitive, Henderson jail records show.
Sheriff’s investigators had been searching for Hetzel and his ex-girlfriend, Virginia Paris, since he was suspected of kidnapping her Friday night in Solvang. The woman had recently been granted a restraining order against Hetzel but it had not yet been served when she was kidnapped, authorities said.
Paris, 55, of Lompoc, was found Monday night at the Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino in Henderson, sheriff’s officials said. Paris approached a security guard at the business and told the official she had been kidnapped.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.