Area police gained from the spotlight

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Local police came away with more than stories to tell about the 6-day manhunt for Nicholas T. Sheley.

As the body count climbed in late June 2008, the Sauk Valley was thrust into the national media spotlight, as relatively small, rural departments went about the task of finding the chief suspect in the killings. Each day, lessons were learned.

The FBI

As the search progressed, and it appeared Sheley was moving back and forth between Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, the FBI coordinated search efforts between Sterling and St. Louis.

Local agencies not used to dealing with federal authorities on a daily basis learned what resources the FBI could offer, and came to realize it wasn’t stepping in to take over the investigation, but to assist.

Each jurisdiction where a killing occurred kept its own case, which helped the investigation, Rock Falls Police Chief Michael Kuelper said.

“People respond more to us than to an FBI agent,” he said.

Press briefings

Sheley was on the loose when police found four bodies in a Rock Falls apartment on June 30, 2008. As word spread through town, a crowd gathered around the crime scene where Kuelper addressed the media. About 200 residents stood behind reporters, photographers and camera operators.

Later that evening, during a news briefing at the Rock Falls Police Department, about 15 residents showed up and shouted questions.

“Anybody and everybody threw out questions that weren’t relevant,” Kuelper said.

The next day, law enforcement moved all news briefings to the Coliseum in Sterling.

Multiple sightings

It seemed everyone was seeing Sheley.

And they weren’t shy about telling police.

All the “sightings” had police crisscrossing the area until it was discovered that Sheley was, in fact, hundreds of miles away in the St. Louis area.

To determine which calls might be bona fide, Kuelper said, police dispatchers began asking callers clarifying questions, such as “How do you know Sheley?” and “Where do you see him?”

Sterling Police Chief Ron Potthoff said his department wanted citizens to help police by calling.

Night chase

On the evening of June 26, Sheley led Dixon police and Lee County sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase that ended with him escaping on foot through a muddy cornfield.

It was a moonless night in an area without cell phone reception. Rather than go charging into the field, police called in a helicopter from Wisconsin to assist in the search.

Lee County Sheriff John Varga would not comment directly on the pursuit, although he said the search “seemed like an eternity.”

“You’re hoping it goes well, and the individual goes peacefully,” Varga said. “You want your guys to come home safe and everyone to be safe.”

There is a little more help available now if a similar situation arises: Stephenson County has a recycled military helicopter with infrared capabilities.

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