Yankton Police catch wanted man that fled into Missouri River

YANKTON, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - A man with an active warrant in Yankton County fled police by swimming across the Missouri River but was later caught in Nebraska.

According to the Yankton Police Department, officers noticed Robert Travis Reid Jr. walking with a female near 2nd and Walnut Street in Yankton around 1:17 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The officers recognized both individuals and knew them to have active warrants in Yankton County. The female has not been identified by police.

As officers approached the two, they split up and fled on foot. Reid fled into the Missouri River near the water treatment plant and swam toward the Nebraska shoreline.

Officers requested assistance from Yankton County Search and Rescue and EMS. Officers kept an eye on Reid using spotlights and heard him call out for help 100 yards from the shoreline.

Yankton County Search and Rescue, Game Fish and Parks, and National Park Rangers began a search for Reid, but eventually called that search off at 3:54 a.m., expecting to resume the search at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

At 8:40 a.m., however, Reid was spotted walking along Highway 81 in South Yankton, Nebraska, in only a pair of boxers. The sighting was reported to the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska and Reid was taken into custody without incident.

The Yankton Police Department did not give an update on the female seen walking with Reid.