COLUMBUS – The manhunt for an escaped prisoner from northwest Ohio reportedly ended last night when Branden Lee Powell took his own life in his parents’ home near the Indiana state line.
The Paulding County Sheriff says investigators learned Powell was possibly in a rural area of Antwerp around 6:00 p.m., according to a report by a Ft. Wayne, Ind., TV station.
Officers and agents from multiple agencies then found Powell in the crawl space of his parents’ home and tried to negotiate with him to get him out peacefully but Powell shot himself at approximately 9:30.
“While this is not the outcome law enforcement had hoped for, law enforcement hopes the community can rest knowing this armed and dangerous individual is no longer a danger to the community,” Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers told a Toledo television station.
Powell was jailed last month on rape, attempted rape and sexual battery charges.