A man whom authorities say stole a car from Nebraska led law enforcement officials on a chase Tuesday morning in Pottawattamie County, and managed to elude his pursuers. Sheriff’s officials told the Daily NonPareil the pursuit started around 9:50 a.m. in Crescent, when an unidentified white male driving a red Chevy Cavalier stolen out of Omaha, failed to stop for authorities.

The pursuit followed Old Lincoln Highway before turning onto Leisure Avenue. The vehicle eventually entered a cornfield near the intersection with 190th Street, at which point the driver took off on foot. Several law enforcement agencies including at least seven k-9 units engaged in a search for the driver, but the hilly, wooded terrain in the area made the search difficult. Adding to the difficulty in finding the man, was an unharvested corn crop, cloud cover and a light mist. The sheriff’s office, Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation and others were on the scene.

The manhunt was called-off at around 2:30-p.m., after search teams lost the trail in a corn field.  The suspect is described as a 5-foot-7 white male around 50 years old with shoulder-length hair. Sheriff Jeff Danker said authorities believe they know who the suspect is, but he declined to release a name. The sheriff’s office and other agencies were gathering evidence in an effort to obtain an arrest warrant.

One person was killed and another injured during a collision between a car and pickup Tuesday evening in Guthrie County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 1997 Olds Cutlass driven by 23-year old Jacob Cody Stringer, of Bayard, was traveling west on Highway 141 at around 5:30-p.m., when his car hit a guard rail and veered across the centerline before hitting a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup. Stringer, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene of crash west of Bayard. The driver of the pickup, 60-year old Laverne Joseph Tigges, of Adel, was trapped in his vehicle.

Tigges was extricated and flown to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines by Mercy Air 1. A report on his condition is not available. The accident remains under investigation.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a Villisca man was arrested Tuesday afternoon on sexual exploitation and child pornography charges. 60-year old James L. McDaniel, of Villisca, was taken into custody at around 2:10-p.m. following a three-month long investigation that was conducted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office along with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Nashville, TN Metropolitan Police Department and Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.

Authorities say McDaniel allegedly engaged in an online relationship with a then-16-year-old girl in Tennessee and was able to coerce the teenager to send explicit pictures,

McDaniel faces charges that include felony Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, as well as Possession of Child Pornography (an aggravated misdemeanor), and Dissemination and Exhibition of Obscene Material to a Minor (a serious misdemeanor).

McDaniel was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 cash bond.

A building in Wiota that has served many different functions over the past several decades, was damaged by fire late Tuesday night. Firefighters from Wiota, Anita, Atlantic and Cumberland responded to the reported blaze at the Wiota Steakhouse at 302 Center Street, shortly after 11:20-p.m.

Wiota Steakhouse Fire (Ric Hanson/photos)

Wiota Fire Chief Cody Will spoke with KJAN News at around 12:45-a.m. Wednesday, not long after crews had knocked down the flames and were beginning mop-up duties.

(Will said when the first crews arrived, the kitchen was fully engulfed in flames and exiting the rear and the roof of the building and spread to the attic area, where crews were able to stop the spread of the fire. Most of the damage was contained to the kitchen area.)

Firefighters were on the scene for the next hour or so making sure the hot spots were put out. Will said they were attacking the attic area most of the night and it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.  He said later that the fire apparently began with a hot water heater exhaust behind a cabinet that burned through the wood floor. Will said water coming out of the heater was scalding hot even after they tried to cool it down with a hose. An investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office was scheduled to examine the scene sometime today (Wednesday).

The owner of the steakhouse, Barb Mitchell, was understandably upset, according to the Chief.

The restaurant had been scheduled to open later in the day.

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Firefighters from Anita and Wiota were called to the scene of a reported fire in Wiota Tuesday night. The Cass County Communications Center said a large fire was reported on the back side of the Wiota Steakhouse at 302 Center Street, at around 11:20-p.m.  A grass unit from the Cumberland Fire Department was also called to assist at the scene.

Additional details are currently not available.