WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah – A three-hour standoff along I-15 ended peacefully Thursday. Sheriff deputies say it was due to the careful work of the area’s crisis negotiation team.
Deputies got a call just after 11 a.m. from a man who said his wife left the house in an emotional state and was threatening to harm herself. Deputies tried to pull her over, but she kept going and ended up on a dirt frontage road.
“Deputies felt with the situation the crisis negotiation might help,” said Washington County Sheriff detective Nate Abbott. “They responded and were able to make contact with the individual.”
Abbott said the woman had knives the car with her. At one point, she threatened to use them. Negotiators talked to the woman via cell phone and eventually talked her into surrendering to deputies.
“The crisis negotiation team is trained to be able to deal with people, talk with people, understand their situation,” Abbott said.
Deputies are not releasing the name of the woman at this time, but they said she did give in voluntarily to deputies and was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
