Seven Arrested In Suspected Kidnapping

Seven men are in the Idaho County jail after allegedly kidnapping a man and a woman from a home in Stites late Sunday.

Neighbors told the police they saw a white van pull away from the home about 8 p.m. Police found blood in the home, said Lt. Scott Mealer of the Idaho County Sheriffs Department.

Police later spotted the van traveling on Highway 13 between Stites and Grangeville.

They pulled the van over and found the seven men and two victims inside.

The male victim, Mark B. Leighton, was badly beaten, but Pam S. Horstman was not injured.

Leighton was sent to the hospital with injuries.

On further inspection, the four arresting officers found 11 guns and several knives in the vehicle, but the seven men did not resist arrest, Mealer said.

The men will be charged with kidnapping and aggravated battery, both felonies.

They will be arraigned today.

Mealer said he could not speculate on a motive, and the incident is under investigation, but the victims were not talking as of Monday night.

The seven men were: Augie Hightower, 31, of Kamiah; and Raymond Hanna, 34, Russell Gabelt, 30, William Hanna, 34, Mike Topp, 33, Thomas Galka 37, and Bernard Disch, 40; all of Montana.