On the evening of August 13, 2019, deputies responded to a disturbance at a home at 398 Grove Terrace, west of Great Bend, Kansas, after reports of shots fired. At about 8:36 p.m. officers found 34-year-old Charles G. Rousey at the rear of the building with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witness information prompted an attempt to locate a 23-year-old suspect, Nicholas A. Pethel, from the rural Great Bend area. Later that night Great Bend Fire Department personnel who had heard the broadcast spotted the suspect vehicle on South Main Street and alerted 911. Officers stopped the vehicle on Railroad Avenue and took Pethel into custody without incident; he was booked on a charge of first-degree murder with bond set at $1 million. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was assisting and the case was sent to the Barton County Attorney’s office for review.

If anyone knew Charles Rousey or has information about events at 398 Grove Terrace on August 13, 2019, please come forward.