GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Police in western Kansas say a gunman who held Finney County's chief judge hostage over a child custody matter eventually surrendered and released the victim without harm.
Authorities say the standoff began about 7 a.m. Tuesday, when the suspect forced his way into 61-year-old Wendel Wurst's home in Garden City and confronted the man and his wife at gunpoint.
The gunman released the woman a short time later, and she called police from a neighbor's home.
The standoff ended peacefully several hours later.
Police say the suspect was upset over a custody case Wurst handled.
There was no immediate word about any charges resulting from the captivity.
Wurst was appointed a district judge in 2004 by then-Gov. Mark Parkinson.
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