Skeletal remains identified as Kansas man who went missing after fleeing traffic stop
State officials have identified skeletal remains found in northwest Kansas as an El Dorado man who was reported missing after he ran from a traffic stop last January.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Cloud County Sheriff’s Office and Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office on Monday announced the human remains were identified as 40-year-old Waylon Fort. Investigators did not release a cause of death, though the KBI said there was no evidence of foul play.
The investigation started on April 26 after a resident notified law enforcement that they had found a human bone. The remains were found east of Beloit near K-9 highway and County Road 757, along the border of Mitchell and Cloud counties.
“Due to the advanced decomposition of the recovered remains, positive identification was challenging,” KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood said in a news release. “DNA extracted from the remains was compared to DNA samples obtained from probable family members. The DNA profiles closely matched, resulting in his identification.”
KBI records show Fort was reported as a missing person on Jan. 21, and the Kansas Department of Corrections listed him as a parole absconder on Jan. 20.
The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office issued an attempt to locate on Jan. 21, noting a welfare concern after Fort ran away from a deputy on Jan. 17. The deputy had pulled Fort over for speeding on the highway near the county line.
Fort was not found after a search of the area, and he never contacted any family or friends, the sheriff’s office said.
“Our priority is the welfare of Fort,” the sheriff’s office said after the January traffic stop. “Fort was last seen wearing a dark blue rain coat with no insulation, an orange t-shirt, blue jeans, and one black Nike shoe.”
Cold temperatures were below freezing that day in the Beloit area, AccuWeather reports show.
Fort’s criminal history is comprised of convictions in Cherokee, Butler and Sedgwick counties, including child sex crimes, fleeing police, criminal threat and violation of the offender registration act. He was a registered sex offender.
This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 12:59 PM.