One dead in 18-hour standoff in Elkhart

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – A child was found dead in Elkhart County on Sunday after an eighteen-hour standoff.

The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the 57000 block of Pendleton Drive in Elkhart County on Saturday to check on the welfare of an adult man and his two children.

When officers arrived at the scene at around 9:06 p.m., they found that the man was armed and threatened to harm his children and the police officers.

The Elkhart County Regional SWAT team responded shortly after midnight Sunday and attempted to contact the man. The man refused to leave the home, fired a firearm and barricaded himself inside the home.

After several attempts to reach the man throughout the morning, the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team arrived to assist. At approximately 3:30 p.m., they entered the home and arrested the male suspect, 37-year-old Ryan Snyder. The team found a two-year-old boy dead inside the home. They also found a four-year-old girl who was treated at the scene and released to a relative.

Snyder was taken to a local hospital before being transported to the Elkhart County Jail.

This is an ongoing investigation by the Indiana State Police and the Elkhart County Homicide Unit. The Elkhart County District Attorney’s Office will file charges against Snyder.