ONAWA, Iowa  – A stand-off Thursday afternoon in Monona County eventually ended peacefully, with one person taken into custody. The incident took place at the Onawa grain elevator, where an unidentified man climbed an external ladder before blocking the ladder so no one could follow him. The standoff began at about 2:30pm.

Law enforcement officials tried for more than two-hours to communicate with the man through the use of a drone, but for most of that time, according to the Monona County Sheriff’s Office, the man gave only “nonverbal responses.” He climbed back down the ladder a little more than two-hours later, and was quickly taken into custody.

The Monona County Sheriff couldn’t say whether the man was considered to be a suspect in three recent arson investigations, including Wednesday’s incident which destroyed the more than 100-year-old grandstand on the Monona County Fairgrounds.