NEBRASKA, USA — A Columbus man accused of taking his 3-year-old daughter without permission was arrested in Nebraska on Saturday following a pursuit with troopers.
Officers with the Columbus Division of Police were called to the 1700 block of Manchester Avenue in the Linden area on a report of an interference of custody. According to Sgt. Joe Albert, officers arrived on the scene and spoke to a woman who said the father of her daughter took the child without permission.
Police wrote in an affidavit that Gonzalez got into an argument with the woman and then sexually assaulted her.
Court records state that the woman ran out of the house and Gonzalez chased after her. Gonzalez grabbed the child and left the area in a white GMC Denali pickup truck.
Police wrote that the woman had a protection order against Gonzalez, which was set to expire on Jan. 5, 2027.
The Nebraska State Patrol said they received information from the Columbus Division of Police that the suspect of a child abduction may have been traveling on Interstate 80 in Nebraska. The child was believed to be in the vehicle.
Troopers located the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop, but the suspect, identified as Gonzalez, reportedly refused to yield and began passing vehicles on the shoulder.
Gonzalez is said to have reached speeds of approximately 100 mph. Troopers discontinued the pursuit for the safety of other drivers on the road.
A short time later, Dawson County 911 received a report of the suspect vehicle.
Gonzalez's vehicle was located and stop sticks were successfully deployed but he refused to stop, so troopers reengaged the pursuit.
As Gonzalez reached another location where troopers deployed stop sticks, he drove off the road and at a trooper who was able to run out of the way to avoid getting hit.
Gonzalez continued fleeing onto Highway 92 where he eventually drove off the road, through a fence and into a field where his vehicle became disabled.
Troopers were able to take him into custody without further incident and the child was located safely in the vehicle.
Gonzalez was arrested and charged with flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, child abuse (no injury), attempted assault on an officer and numerous traffic violations. He is also charged with violation of a protection order in Franklin County.
He is being held in the Custer County Jail. It's unclear if he will be extradited back to Ohio.