7/25/2009

Beloit police seize suspect vehicle

By COURTNEY LOONEY

Salina Journal

BELOIT — The Beloit Police Department reported Friday that a vehicle seized Thursday is thought to be connected with a hit-and-run fatality that occurred July 18 in Beloit.

Diane Sibley, 43, the victim of that crime, died Monday from her injuries at St. Francis Via Christi.

Lt. Ryan Stocker, of Beloit, said that “due to the investigation” a vehicle thought to be involved in Sibley’s death was searched by the Beloit Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol and the Salina Crime Scene Unit.

Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Stocker would not say what type of vehicle was searched, who owned it or what evidence was taken from the search.

According to a news release, evidence from the vehicle was collected and was sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigations for further testing.

“The result of this testing may take several weeks,” Stocker said.

Stocker said no arrests have been made. He would not say whether police were close to making an arrest or if it had any suspects.

Anyone with information about the accident is encouraged to call the Beloit Police Department at (785) 738-2203, or by submitting information online at www.mccrimestoppers.org, or by calling the Mitchell County Crimestoppers at 1-200-999-1514.

Sibely was found unconscious in the alley of the 100 block of South Mill in Beloit. It’s estimated she was run over by a large vehicle between midnight and 2:11 a.m.

Sibley had been at the Beloit Eagle’s Club, where she had been a longtime bartender. She was not working that night.

She was found in the alley by a couple of children riding their bikes. She was taken to the Mitchell County Hospital before being flown to Wichita.

Sibley’s funeral was Friday morning in Beloit. Her obituary was in Wednesday’s Salina Journal, and it can be found on the Salina Journal Web site at salina.com.

n Reporter Courtney Looney can be reached at 823-6464, ext. 153, or by e-mail at [email protected].