WEST WENDOVER, Nev. -- Two men were arrested in West Wendover early Thursday morning after police received a report that a third man had been beaten and kidnapped in Taylorsville.
According to a news release from the West Wendover Police Department, officers were notified shortly before 3 a.m. of a possible kidnapping and that the people involved may be in the West Wendover area.
Police said the victim had contacted family members via text message, giving them his location and a vehicle description, which was passed on to officers.
West Wendover police located the vehicle at the Pilot Travel Center, 1200 Wendover Blvd., and made contact with the occupants.
Officers learned the three men had traveled to Utah for work, but the job fell through.
"The job that they were looking for fell apart and there was some animosity towards the victim, who set up the job. It's unclear exactly how he got his injuries, but it looks like they took out their aggression on him," said Lt. Don Liniger, West Wendover Police Department. "We got at least two states involved, multiple jurisdictions and third-party information, so we're trying to piece it all together."
Nathan Ferguson, 26, and Andrew Ussery, 29, were accused of assaulting the victim, but police said the victim "stopped short" of accusing Ferguson and Ussery of kidnapping him.
The victim was taken to a Salt Lake City-area hospital to be evaluated. Meanwhile, Ferguson and Ussery were released from police custody.
West Wendover police contacted officers from the Unified Police Department, who visited the victim in the hospital to learn more about the incident.
According to the news release, UPD gave West Wendover police enough information to substantiate the kidnapping charges. Police located Ferguson and Ussery again and they were taken into custody without incident. Both were transferred to the Elko County Jail.
