PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Ryan Degroat of White Earth, Minnesota, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after he earlier had pled guilty, but mentally ill, to one charge of first-degree kidnapping.

Degroat had been arrested in March of 2022 for entering a home in Hecla where he assaulted one person and then forced that person to drive them both out of town. The two were found by law enforcement at a rest area in North Dakota.

A Brown County Grand Jury indicted Degroat in March, 2022, and he later pled guilty to the kidnapping charge.

“This sentence brings some resolution to the victim and their family who have dealt with the unthinkable,’” said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. “I want to specifically recognize the cooperative effort between law enforcement agencies in two states and prosecutors in bringing justice in this difficult case.”

Agencies involved in the investigation were the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Brown County Sheriff’s Office, North Dakota Highway Patrol, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Prosecution of the case was handled by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Brown County State’s Attorney’s Office.