Sex Offender Suspected Of Kidnapping Stepdaughter Fatally Shoots Self In Manhunt

A registered Colorado sex offender suspected of kidnapping his stepdaughter killed himself Friday as police looked to arrest him in connection with the child's disappearance.

The suspect, identified by police as Jody Haskin, 47, of Grand Junction, Colorado, fatally shot himself after being surrounded by police during a manhunt.

Officers had been in pursuit of Haskin after his 12-year-old stepdaughter reportedly disappeared on Wednesday, police said.

"At 06:47 this morning, officers were searching for a wanted subject believed to be in the area," the Rifle Police Department said on its Facebook page. "During this time, they encountered an armed adult male. Officers ordered the male to drop his weapon. The male refused, and ultimately shot himself."

Officers found the girl Thursday at a Walmart in Rifle, a small town 60 miles outside of Grand Junction. She reportedly appeared unharmed and was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.

Haskin, who had been charged with suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, was not with his stepdaughter when police found her.

He is a registered sex offender and had no parental rights to his stepdaughter. The man also had a prior warrant for his arrest for sexual assault on a child, according to police.

"There is no doubt that a case like this is incredibly alarming and frightening to everyone involved, as well as the community affected by the incident," the Rifle police department said in a statement.

Police added that an investigation into Haskin’s death will be conducted with the help of the FBI, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Mesa County Sheriff's Office and the Grand Junction Police Department.

The CBI on Wednesday had issued an Amber Alert after the child went missing, according to KRDO, an ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs. Police said she was last seen in a green car with a "balding white man in his late 40s to early 50s" who called out to her by name.

Investigators added that the child was mentally disabled but high-functioning. Officials later recovered the green car in the town of Rifle. It was unclear at the time how it got there.