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Affidavit: Captor used chains, weapon to restrain missing men
WISCONSIN RAPIDS — What started as a frantic search for a 23-year-old missing man has evolved into a bizarre tale of two young men kidnapped by a man who pretended to be a police officer and chained them naked in his basement and garage.
The latest development came this afternoon in Wood County Circuit Court, where a judge ordered that 46-year-old Edward J. Lanphear be held in jail on a $1 million cash bond. Lanphear faces charges that he took and held the two men against their will in his home near Wisconsin Rapids.
A probable cause affidavit says Lanphear approached one of the men, a 23-year-old Grand Rapids resident, early Saturday and claimed to be a Grand Rapids police officer. He handcuffed the younger man, then knocked him out with a blow to the head when the handcuffs came loose, according to the report.
According to the affidavit:
* The 23-year-old man awoke in Lanphear's basement in the town of Saratoga, bound by chains and unable to free himself. Lanphear used a knife to cut off his victim's clothing and then repeatedly assaulted him.
* Lanphear attached one end of a string to the trigger of a shotgun and the other end to the chains wrapped around his victim. He told the young man that if he moved, it would tighten the string around the shotgun and fire the weapon.
* The victim was left on the basement floor, which was covered in plastic.
* A 21-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man told police he was drinking at Johnny's Bar in Wisconsin Rapids between Sunday night and early Monday, then went to his car parked outside the tavern and passed out. When he awoke, he found himself chained up and hanging inside an unfamiliar garage, with all his clothes removed.
* The second victim told police that he knew Lanphear was his assailant because he had seen him frequently in Johnny's Bar.
* The 21-year-old man said Lanphear hit him in the head with a metal pipe or metal device, cutting his left eye and bruising his eyebrow and cheek. He said his hands were bound by "flex cuffs" and his eyes were covered by a device so that he couldn't see.
* In addition to his eye and cheek injuries, the 21-year-old man had severe injuries to his nose and believed he had been sexually assaulted.
* The man said that he was able to escape the garage and ran across the street, naked and still partially bound by chains, and reported his kidnapping to the residents there.
"Mr. Lanphear has indicated to (investigator Mark) Neuman through the course of this investigation that he knew what he did was wrong." the affidavit reads.
Authorities were led to Lanphear's home at 10730 52nd St. S. in the town of Saratoga after the resident across the street reported that a naked, bleeding man had shown up on his porch. That call came at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
When investigators went to Lanphear's home, they found the 23-year-old man, who had been the subject of a large-scale search since he was reported missing Sunday morning. He had not been seen since he left the Wisconsin Rapids fireworks show about 11 p.m. Friday.
The second man was reported missing around 12:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Wisconsin Rapids and Wood County law enforcement officers, assisted by investigators from the State Crime Lab office in Wausau, were searching Lanphear's home this afternoon and blocked access by members of the public.
The 23-year-old victim was back home Wednesday, recovering, his mother said.
Her son "is doing well,” she said in a short phone interview with the Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids this morning. “This is just a really traumatic time for him, and we’re rallying around him right now.”
She said her son, who was treated at Riverview Hospital on Tuesday night, was up and walking around. Family and close friends were at the man's home, lending emotional support.
Potential charges against Lanphear include false imprisonment, kidnapping, substantial battery, first-degree sexual assault and impersonating a peace officer.
The Wausau Daily Herald and the Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids are continuing to pursue information in the case for further updates.
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