Man Arrested in Papergirl’s Killing

A neighbor of a 15-year-old girl who was kidnapped in this western Nebraska town was arrested after her body was found Wednesday, authorities said Thursday.

Heather Guerrero’s body was discovered in an abandoned house 12 miles from Gering, where she was abducted while delivering newspapers before dawn Tuesday.

Jeffrey A. Hessler, 24, of Gering was arrested on suspicion of murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony, said the Scotts Bluff County attorney’s office.

Hessler lives just a block from the girl, authorities said.

Deputy County Atty. Doug Warner said Hessler is believed to be the driver of a car a neighbor saw leaving the scene of the abduction. Hessler had been questioned Tuesday, when he denied any connection to the abduction, Warner said.

A Nebraska State Patrol investigator and a city of Scottsbluff police detective recovered a gun when they made the arrest. No other details were immediately released.

Heather’s body was found by her uncle and another relative in the basement of the house, at Lake Minatare.

Jim Vance, a newspaper subscriber who lives along Heather’s route, said he was walking his golden retriever when he heard a scream early Tuesday about 100 feet away. Seconds later, a gray car with tinted windows sped by with its lights off, Vance said.

Vance said he walked toward the area that the scream came from but saw no sign of foul play. He said that he wondered whether there had been a domestic dispute, and that he didn’t worry about it until about an hour later when police began patrolling the area.