'Pokémon Go' News: Players Accidentally Stumble Upon Wanted Criminals While Playing Game at Kansas Cemetery
A couple playing "Pokémon Go" recently found something more frightening than ghost-type Pokémon at a historic Kansas Cemetery. While the game was not designed to track down wanted criminals, such was what happened over the past weekend.
According to reports, two players of the popular mobile game went to Kansas Cemetery last weekend where they accidentally bumped into two individuals. It turned out that these two were actually wanted for kidnapping and robbery and had been on the run for a time.
In the afternoon of May 20, Tim Johnston and his fiancée were playing the game in the Topeka Cemetery when they suddenly received a push alert from the WIBW TV station. It informed them that two armed and aggravated robbery suspects were hiding somewhere in the area. The said notification included mug shots of the robbers.
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At first, the couple ignored the notification. After about five minutes, however, Johnston recognized the two robbers walking around the cemetery. He then immediately called 911 to inform the police. "I have a visual of two suspects you guys are looking for," he reported.
It did not take too long for the police to arrive at the scene and arrest the two suspects on the spot. The criminals were identified as Tamarya Brooks, 32, and Ryan E. Bettcher, 31. Aside from committing robbery, they had also allegedly kidnapped an unidentified woman and kept her inside a hotel.
The police reported that the two suspects were homeless and used knives and a gun to accomplish the crimes. They were charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery and criminal restraint.
Last weekend's incident was not the first time that "Pokémon Go" served as a means to solve a crime. Prior to the incident, another group of players was able to prevent a case of sexual assault against a woman after reporting the mysterious screams they had heard from the woods near the area where they were hunting for Pokémon.
