HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a father after police found a child wandering and no parents around.

On Wednesday, Master Patrol Officer Jurado with Newton Police made a new friend. Four-year-old Madeline was found walking around her “kingdom” in a pretty pink princess dress, according to a social media report.

“The problem is, the King and Queen were nowhere to be found.

Thankfully this fairytale has a happy ending. After almost an hour, our good Knights at the Police Department were able to figure out where Madeline’s castle was located. She is now staying safely with the Queen at a different castle.

Unfortunately, the King will have to stay in the dungeon for a short time as punishment for leaving this little princess home alone.”

Police reminded parents, “help your children learn their address and parents’ given names to help in case they become separated.”

No additional details were released.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man accused of killing his girlfriend and setting her house on fire has been charged with murder.

Twenty-nine-year-old Dane Wright made his first appearance Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court, where he heard the formal charges against him.

Prosecutors charged Wright with first-degree murder, arson and three counts of child endangerment.

Wright’s girlfriend, Reyona Caldwell, was found dead inside a burning home on June 2. An autopsy determined she was bludgeoned to death.

After an Amber Alert was issued for Wright and three children, the children were found in a south Wichita hotel. Wright was later arrested.

He is jailed in Sedgwick County Jail on $500,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 21.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a reported kidnapping and asking the public for help to locate a victim.

Just after 5p.m. Wednesday, Topeka Police were near the suspect’s residence in the 400 Block of SW Roosevelt to serve a search warrant, according to a media release.

Officers thought they saw movement inside the residence. Officers set up a perimeter and requested assistance from crisis negotiators in an attempt to communicate with occupants of the residence.

A robot with a communication device entered the residence. When no communication was made the Topeka Police Response team entered the residence and found it unoccupied.

Just after 7a.m. Wednesday, the Topeka Police Department was made aware of the abduction, according to a media release.

Police are searching for Viviana Vazquez, 33, Topeka, who was taken against her will Wednesday by Pedro Enriquez, 38, Topeka.

Both persons are known to one another.

They were last seen leaving the 1300 BLK SW Garfield Wednesday morning in a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser displaying Kansas license plate 057 JJU.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a reported kidnapping and asking the public for help to locate a victim.

Just after 7a.m. Wednesday, the Topeka Police Department was made aware of the abduction, according to a media release.

Police are searching for Viviana Vazquez, 33, Topeka, who was taken against her will Wednesday by Pedro Enriquez, 38, Topeka.

Both persons are known to one another.

They were last seen leaving the 1300 BLK SW Garfield Wednesday morning in a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser displaying Kansas license plate 057 JJU.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Topeka Police.

SUMNER COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities investigated a bomb threat at Sumner Regional Medical Center in Wellington on Wednesday evening.

Officials implemented the hospital emergency plan, according to a social media report. That included the evacuation of patients.

Just after 11p.m., police completed the investigation and cleared the scene and the hospital returned to normal operation.

TOPEKA – Just after 5p.m. Wednesday, Topeka Police responded to the downtown Ramada Inn after management conducted a welfare check on State Representative Patsy Terrell of Hutchinson, according to a media release. She was pronounced dead inside her hotel room.

A preliminary investigation revealed no indication of foul play.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A legislative spokeswoman says Kansas Rep. Patsy Terrell of Hutchinson was found dead in her hotel room near the Capitol. She was 55.

Heather Scanlon, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Jim Ward’s office, says officials became concerned after Terrell didn’t arrive for the House’s afternoon session on Wednesday. She says the hotel was contacted after several House members failed to reach her.

Scanlon says the hotel then notified Ward’s office of Terrell’s death. The cause is not yet known.

Terrell, a Democrat, won her House seat in November, defeating veteran state Rep. Jan Pauls, also from Hutchinson. Pauls was a conservative Republican who’d switched parties after serving in the Legislature as a Democrat.

Scanlon says Terrell was “an unrelenting advocate for the people of District 102 and Hutchinson.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who fled the state three years ago before sentencing on a child rape charge has been captured in Mexico.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service said Wednesday 31-year-old Jeffrey Dane Swindler is jailed in Texas awaiting extradition to Kansas.

Swindler fled in May 2014, a month after he was convicted for a second time in the 2008 rape of an 11-year-old child in Sumner County.

Marshals and Mexican authorities determined Swindler was living in Monterrey, Mexico, where he was taken into custody without incident and sent to Texas to await extradition. It was not immediately clear when Swindler was arrested.

Swindler was first convicted in 2010 and was sentenced to life in prison. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned that conviction but he was convicted again in 2014.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s decision to increase income taxes to fix the state budget and provide extra money for public schools. (all times local):

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback says the income tax increases legislators enacted over his veto will be bad for the long-term health of the state’s economy.

The governor said during a news conference Wednesday that he believes the increases will slow job growth and discourage companies from moving to Kansas.

Legislators repudiated past income tax cuts championed by Brownback in passing a measure that is expected to raise $1.2 billion over two years. It increases income tax rates and ends an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.

Brownback said the debate became too much about him.

The governor refused to take questions after making his statement.

Kansas faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million, and the state Supreme Court ruled in March that its education funding is inadequate.

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9:22 a.m.

Kansas legislators have repudiated the tax-cutting experiment that brought Republican Gov. Sam Brownback national attention.

The state House voted Tuesday night to overturn Brownback’s veto of a plan that reverses many of the income tax reductions he championed. The legislation aims to fix the state budget and provide additional funds for public schools.

Kansas faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019. The state Supreme Court ruled in March that education funding is inadequate.

The plan is expected to raise $1.2 billion over two years by increasing income tax rates and ending an exemption for 330,000-plus farmers and business owners.

Supporters had four votes more in the House than the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto. The Senate earlier voted for an override, with exactly a two-thirds majority.

RENO COUNTY  — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect a domestic disturbance where she reportedly set fire to clothing and other household items.

Just after 9p.m. Monday, police arrested Melissa Bell, 34, Hutchinson, on suspicion of arson, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property.

The victim reported clothes that belonged to her and her son were taken out of a closet and set on fire. This happened after the two got into an argument.

After a first appearance in court, bond in the case was reduced to $5,000.

Bell is due back in court next week to see if the state has filed formal charges.

She has prior criminal convictions for criminal threat and criminal use of a weapon, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

NEWTON – Amtrak will run an inspection train on the BNSF Railway from Oklahoma City to Kansas City on Friday with a stop in Newton just before 1 p.m.

Railroad officials say this is the next step in the possible return of passenger rail service between Kansas and Texas, which they believe could have tremendous benefits for Newton.

Invited guests on the train will include state transportation officials from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, along with local leaders.

Residents are asked to come to the Newton station in the 400 Block of Main Street to meet this special train.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A communications professor at Wichita State University says she’s resigning because a law allowing concealed weapons on campus is “in opposition to the values of higher education.”

Deborah Ballard-Reisch submitted a letter to university President John Bardo on Monday saying she plans to retire July 1, the day the law goes into effect.

The Kansas 2013 law allowing people to bring guns into public buildings had given colleges until this summer to comply. As of 2015, Kansas no longer requires anyone carrying a concealed handgun to obtain a permit.

Republican state Rep. John Whitmer of Wichita says more than 100 colleges have accepted concealed-carry without incident.

Ballard-Reisch, who was robbed at gunpoint in 2014, says she and other gun violence victims have told administrators they feel scared with more guns on campus.