LUCAS — The search for the man who allegedly abducted a 10-month-old baby and became the subject of an Ohio Amber Alert has ended with the child found safe and the man taken into custody.
Robert D. Beane, 27, was found and taken into custody after an all-day search that started in Shelby with a car chase and ended with a manhunt led by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office in Washington Township.
“I’m proud and blessed that everything came out the way it did,” said Capt. Jim Sweat, scene commander with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. “We couldn’t ask for a better outcome here today.”
According to Sweat, Beane was located at 6:30 p.m. today by a group of law enforcement officials, hiding in a wooded area about half a mile from the location of his crashed vehicle at 2112 Mansfield-Lucas Road.
“The gentleman surrendered immediately without incident, and at that time the child was also taken into custody,” Sweat said.
Beane will be transported to the Richland County Jail to await charges from Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop. According to Bishop, Beane was already wanted in Richland County on drug-related charges dating back to 2015.
“We do anticipate charges, but nothing is conclusive at this point,” Bishop said. “We don’t want to jump the gun, but we are considering kidnapping, receiving stolen property, and child endangerment.”
The child did not have any obvious injuries and was described by Sweat as being in good spirits. He was being transported for evaluation, while Richland County Children’s Services and the child’s mother were contacted to make arrangements.
According to Brian Fitzgibbon with U.S. Marshals, Beane is the 10-month-old’s biological father, but he does not have custody of the child.
“When he had his incident with the lady and the child, he took it to a whole new level,” Fitzgibbon said.
Shelby Police Chief Lance Combs said in a 3 p.m. media briefing that Beane was first arrested by U.S. Marshals in Elyria on June 28 on an armed robbery/kidnapping case out of Elyria. While incarcerated in the Lorain County Jail, he was released on a medical furlough and fled the hospital on July 5.
Beane allegedly stole a gray 2018 Chevrolet Camaro in Elyria today at 4 a.m. and drove to his girlfriend’s residence in Lorain at approximately 5:30 a.m. There, he allegedly pistol whipped her and fled the scene with their 10-month-old son.
The vehicle was confirmed to be in Shelby this morning. As law enforcement from several agencies responded to attempt to locate and take Beane into custody, the vehicle left Shelby and was observed heading toward Ashland on U.S. 42.
After the vehicle was observed by law enforcement near Baney Road, a pursuit began. The pursuit was lengthy and was lost and picked up several times, according to Combs. The pursuit resulted in a crash of the stolen vehicle at 2112 Mansfield-Lucas Road, after which Beane exited the vehicle with his 10-month-old son and fled on foot, according to a local resident who witnessed the crash.
Authorities from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Mansfield Police Department, Ontario Police Department, Shelby Police Department, United States Marshal’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation and search, as well as local fire departments and rescue units.
Sweat credited “boots on the ground” work in locating Beane and the child safely. He noted close to 200 law enforcement officers were working the scene at the height of the investigation.
“Any incident involving a child gets the top priority,” Sweat said.
