SOUTH VIENNA, Ohio - A standoff continued into a second day yesterday between state troopers and a man who holed up in a rural house after speeding away from a rest area in a pickup that was reported stolen.
"Our hope is to bring this matter to a peaceful resolution," State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Rick Fambro said.
Greg D. Thompson, 42, was alone in the house and told troopers he was armed, Fambro said, adding he did not know where the home's residents were.
Negotiators periodically spoke to Thompson by telephone overnight and into the morning.
"He appears to be talking somewhat very easily with the negotiators," Fambro said. "The dialogue is back and forth. It is good."
Thompson abandoned the pickup truck and took refuge in the two-story white house in rural western Ohio about noon Tuesday, patrol officials said.
Fambro said he was not aware of Thompson making any demands, and troopers have no plans to enter the residence.
"Obviously time is on our side," Fambro said. "At this point we're not endangering officers. We're not endangering him by rushing into the residence."
The house is behind a soybean field off a county highway. Troopers told neighbors to keep their doors locked.
Troopers fired at the tires of Thompson's truck at the rest area, but were unsuccessful in stopping the vehicle, the patrol's Sgt. Rick Zwayer said.
Thompson fled west on Interstate 70, then drove off the highway, through a fence and into a farm field, he said.
Thompson stopped at a nearby home seeking help for a flat tire, he said. By the time troopers arrived at the home, Thompson had fled on foot, Zwayer said.
The patrol said ammunition was found inside Thompson's truck, which had been reported stolen in Burlington, Iowa. South Vienna is 33 miles west of Columbus.
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