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Police find woman held in shed, man arrested after standoff

A Clinton County man was charged with kidnapping after being accused of holding a neighbor woman in a pit beneath a shed in his yard Wednesday.

The victim was released after treatment at a local hospital, according to reports.

The suspect, Dennis C. Dunn, 45, of Blanchester, is scheduled for a court hearing Thursday in Clinton County.

He is accused of concealing the woman in a shallow, covered pit behind his home at 113 Central Ave. in Blanchester, a small village in Clinton County, but along the borders of Clermont and Warren counties.

Blanchester Police Chief Scott Reinbolt said the victim’s mother reported her missing about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

About 4 a.m. Wednesday, officers responding to neighbor calls about screaming found the victim in the pit behind Dunn’s home.

“I’m glad someone heard her crying because she was going to sit in there and die,” neighbor Beth Christian said.

Dunn is known to police.

The victim called 911 last October, saying Dunn was harassing her and her family, but she didn't press charges, according to Blanchester police.

Dunn also called police earlier this month on four separate occasions, claiming there were intruders inside his home, but police never found anyone, according to police.

Reinbolt spoke to the Wilmington News-Journal about Dunn following the incidents this month.

“It would appear to me that Mr. Dunn is in need of some sort of psychiatric treatment. He was taken to a mental health provider in order to receive that treatment. Within 24 hours he was released, but continues to exhibit the same symptoms,” he told the newspaper.

Reinbolt blames Wednesday's incident on a lack of open spots in Ohio mental health institutions.

"I remember when we still had state facilities where we could take people for in patient treatment,'' he said. "And in the past 20 years, Ohio has eliminated probably 75 percent of that bedspace to save money.''

Dunn was being held on $100,000 bond in the Clinton County Jail, pending the hearing in the local court.

The victim's recovery Wednesday was reportedly delayed while police waited outside Dunn’s home with guns drawn, until a SWAT team arrived at the scene.

Reinbolt said the pit, inside a small shed, was covered with wood and heavy objects.

The victim was unable to speak when she was found, Reinbolt told WCPO TV. Emergency crews took her to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Dunn, a carpenter, had a long list of charges, mostly misdemeanors, ranging from seatbelt violations to driving while intoxicated to drug possession and resisting, in Clermont and Clinton county, according to online court records.

But this was the first serious felony charge listed in either of the three area counties.

“It’s just a shock, a complete shock,” neighbor Emily Noe said. “He was a good guy.”

News Center 7 Reporter Caroline Reinwald contributed to this report.

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