Authorities say a man killed himself in western Pennsylvania following a standoff at a motel involving a teenage girl reported missing in Oklahoma.
Police in Allegheny County said officers were called to the South Fayette Township motel at about 3 p.m. Saturday after being told that a man was there with a 15-year-old girl he had apparently met online.
Police chief Danny Ford of Duncan, Oklahoma, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that investigators believe the man went to Oklahoma to get the girl and brought her back to Pittsburgh. After being informed of her disappearance Friday morning, investigators the following day traced her phone to Ohio and contacted the FBI. They later called a number on her phone records that turned out to be the man's, and were able to trace his phone to the Pittsburgh area, Ford said.
Police at the scene were joined by the county bomb squad and SWAT teams, and officials said they knew the man was armed. For hours, they tried to get him to surrender, officials said.
"We thought he was going to come out to negotiate, he said numerous times he was going to come out," said Jim Morton, assistant superintendent of county police.
Officials said a gunshot was heard just before 9:20 p.m. Saturday, after which officers entered the room.
Walter Morris, 46, of Pittsburgh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the county medical examiner's office said Sunday. No one else was injured.
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Officials said the girl was taken to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for examination.
