Law enforcement authorities called off a search this afternoon after failing to find a man who reportedly fired a gun northeast of Hutchinson.

At approximately 10:40 a.m., a guest checking out of the AmericInn Lodge & Suites reported seeing a white male firing a handgun north of State Highway 7.

According to McLeod County Sheriff Scott Rehmann, the guest called this act to the attention of a motel employee. The employee went outside to see what was going on. Upon being spotted, the man with the handgun reportedly ran into a cornfield.

Rehmann said it is not illegal to fire a gun outside Hutchinson city limits. However, the man's proximity to a business, and his reported behavior after being seen, aroused authorities' suspicions.

Traffic was closed off on State Highway 7 and several neighboring streets for several hours as Hutchinson Police, Carver, McLeod and Meeker County Sheriff's deputies, and the State Patrol combed the area.

Rehmann said there were no spent shells found near the cornfield. The man was gone. Residents in the area report SWAT teams went house-to-house looking for him. Police and news helicopters circled above and Hutchinson Technology Inc. was locked down for awhile, as a precautionary measure.

By 4 p.m., the search was called off and no arrests were made.

On Monday, Hutchinson Police Chief Dan Hatten said his agency and the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident. He added, “We’re investigating all aspects of this incident, including the validity of the call.”

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [1])