A Salina man who slipped out of a handcuff to escape custody from a  patrol vehicle is dead.

According to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan, 37-year-old Steven Moss took his own life Sunday morning inside a house in Genesseo as Rice County authorities were just outside the door.

Moss was being sought on multiple charges for leading law enforcement on a multi-county high speed chase in late December and then escaping from custody.

Original story from Dec. 29, 2022

A Salina man who led local law enforcement on a multi-county high speed pursuit is being sought after he slipped put of a handcuff and escaped from custody.

Captain Jim Hughes from the Saline County Sheriff’s Office says they are seeking 37-year-old Steven Moss.

According to Hughes, a series of events began late Wednesday night with an attempted traffic stop and ended with the escape early Thursday morning.

At 11:50 PM a deputy attempted a traffic stop in the area of Broadway and State Street on a 1992 GMC Sierra pickup that had an expired license plate. The driver, identified as Moss, did not stop and instead fled at a high rate of speed and a chase began.

The pursuit wound through numerous neighborhoods in Salina before exiting town. It then went through portions of rural areas of Saline, Ottawa, Lincoln, and Ellsworth Counties.

Hughes says at one point Moss stopped in the area of Brookville and Ottawa Road. He backed up and rammed a Saline County Patrol unit before then again fleeing. As the pursuit approached Lincoln County Moss swerved the truck toward a Lincoln County deputy who was parked on the side of the road waiting to join the chase. The truck missed the patrol vehicle.

The chase eventually ended with an Ellsworth County Sheriff Deputy and a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper taking Moss and a female passenger into custody. The passenger, identified as 27-year-old Shaylynn Koch had outstanding municipal court warrants.

Both were transported back to Salina to be booked into the Saline County Jail.

Hughes say that when they arrived at the jail, while in the back of a patrol vehicle, Moss was able to slip one hand out of a handcuff, get a back door open, and then fled on foot and escaped.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Steven Moss is asked to call 911 and report it. A tipster could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 and can remain anonymous.

Moss could face charges which include:

reckless driving
felon fleeing and eluding
aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer X2
aggravated escape from custody
theft