Sheriff says fatal Cherokee County hostage situation started with kidnapping

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - Sunday morning, Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson said a hostage situation in the Oakland area that ended with the suspect dead and the victim safe is still under investigation and that it started with a kidnapping.

Dickson also said they are not releasing the names yet because the next of kin notification has not been completed.

Dickson said the situation started early Friday morning when the CCS received word that a man had kidnapped a woman. He added that they started their investigation at about 10 a.m. Friday, and they found the suspect and the victim at about 5 p.m. that day.

The suspect barricaded himself and the hostage in a mobile home.

Multiple law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene to help. In addition to CCSO deputies and the Cherokee County SWAT Team, Texas Department of Public SWAT and Negotiation teams, the Nacogdoches Police Department Special Response Team and negotiators, and the Texas Department of Transportation assisted with the hostage situation.

Throughout the day on Saturday, negotiators were able to talk with the suspect, Sheriff Brent Dickson said.

SH 84 was down to only one lane in the Oakland area during the hostage situation.

Late Saturday night, a post on the CCSO Facebook page stated that the victim was safe, and the suspect was dead. The post also said that the CCSO Criminal Investigation Division and Texas Rangers would remain at the scene to do further investigation.

Dickson said the incident is still under investigation. He said that he could not comment on the relationship between the suspect and the victim and added there was nothing he could say about a possible motive at this time.

The sheriff also said he couldn’t comment on how the suspect died.

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