OTTAWA — Early this morning, Ottawa and Franklin County authorities captured Benjamin Mastel, 35, Ottawa, following an eight-hour manhunt in connection with a stabbing that sent a man to Overland Park Regional Medical Center Monday evening. Following up a call, officers found Mastel at 2:40 a.m. in a backyard in the 400 block of South Ash, a place they had checked earlier during the search, said Ottawa Police Capt. Adam Weingartner. Mastel surrendered without incident, Weingartner said. The stabbing victim is a 36-year-old Ottawa man, who wasn’t immediately identified. The man is listed in stable condition, Weingartner said. The man was dropped off, suffering from stab wounds, at Ransom Memorial Hospital shortly before 6:30 p.m. Monday, he said. Emergency room personnel began treating him and stabilized him enough for the transfer, he said. A suspect was quickly identified and learned the stabbing likely occurred in the 900 block of South Lincoln. “Both the suspect and the victim know each other and there was apparently some type of fight,” Weingartner said. Ottawa police, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers began searching several locations in Ottawa.
Tuesday, April 19, 9:30 a.m.
