Nebraska Man Kills Self in Cornfield After Releasing Estranged Wife He Earlier Kidnapped from Hair Salon

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

IMPERIAL, Neb. (AP) — A man who abducted his estranged wife from the Lincoln hair salon where she works has killed himself, Nebraska state police say.

State police say searchers found 37-year-old Dwayne Lawrence's body in a cornfield outside Imperial Sunday night, the Imperial Republican reports.

His estranged wife, 38-year-old Julie Hanes, emerged from a field in the area earlier in the evening and appeared unharmed. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

This photo provided by the Imperial Republican shows kidnapping victim Julie Hanes, 38, after being released by her abductor and estranged husband in a massive manhunt for the pair. (Credit: AP)

Police say Lawrence abducted Hanes from the salon around noon Saturday. Her parents and other family members live in Imperial, which is 260 miles west of Lincoln near Nebraska's borders with Colorado and Kansas.

An Imperial police officer spotted Lawrence's gold 1998 Chrysler Concorde before dawn Sunday, but it sped off and later was found abandoned outside of the city. A motorist reported seeing the couple walking along a road in the area, the Imperial Republican reports.

Court records show that Hanes filed for divorce July 30, about two weeks after she got a protection order against Lawrence. She told a judge that Lawrence had threatened her several times, and he faces several charges related to a July 8 incident.

Hanes told police that Lawrence fired a gunshot into their bedroom wall and threatened to kill himself in front of her in the hope that she would take her own life.

Hanes said in order to get him to lower the gun that night, she told her husband she would stay with him. They had been married since 2001.

Lawrence had been charged with false imprisonment, making threats, and using a weapon to commit crimes. When he posted $25,000 bond on July 16, he was ordered to stay away from Hanes and any firearms.

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