Search for man with ‘personal issues’ ends after family talks with Swansea police
Swansea residents turned to social media to express their concerns when police officers swarmed their neighborhood Tuesday night, looking for a man who had told them he had a gun.
But police ended the search after speaking with the man’s family, the police chief said.
“There was no threat to the public,” Swansea Police Chief Matthew Blomberg said Wednesday.
Police received a call at 8:30 p.m Tuesday of a suspicious person who was jumping in traffic in the area of Old Caseyville Road and Illinois 161, according to Blomberg.
Responding officers saw a man in the area but the man ran away into a wooded area nearby.
There was verbal exchange between the man and an officer and the man claimed he had a gun, Blomberg said.
Blomberg said officers were not able to confirm whether the man had a gun but they took the matter “seriously.”
Although police were not able to find the man, the search was ended after police talked to the man’s family, Blomberg said.
“We were able to identify him through the family,” he said. “They were in contact with him.”
The family told police the man had “personal issues,” Blomberg said.
Blomberg said the family was told to call the police if they needed assistance.
