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2 Arrested In Wright County Man's Disappearance

BUFFALO, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's been three weeks since his disappearance and there is still no sign of a missing Wright County man, Christopher Rossing.

The 25-year-old was last seen with friends leaving a Howard Lake bar and restaurant in the early morning hours of Aug. 23.

Now, we've learned that the man he was with that night has been arrested and is charged with Rossing's kidnapping. According to the Wright County Attorney Tom Kelly, additional charges are possible.

Robert Otis Nuttall, 28, appeared in Wright County court Friday afternoon and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Ten riders with the McLeod and Meeker County Sheriff's mounted posse spent Friday combing through thick grasses. They are hoping to find any evidence that would help solve the whereabouts of Rossing.

"By no means does the case stop just because a kidnapping charge has been filed," the county attorney said.

On Friday, the attorney's office charged Nuttall with kidnapping Rossing, after being involved in a brutal roadside fight just west of Howard Lake.

On the night of Aug. 22, the two were drinking together, first at the American Legion, then until closing time at the nearby Trouble's Bar.

The two left on foot, walking west on Highway 12 after arguing with Nuttall's girlfriend, Gwen Butcher. Investigators believe Butcher drove alongside the two and attempted to give them a ride in her Ford Expedition.

At some point along the route, the two men got into a scuffle that quickly escalated into a vicious fight.

"We had our victim also walking along with our defendant at the time the assault took place," Kelly said. "That is when they placed him in the back seat of the Expedition."

Investigators believe Rossing was brutally beaten and shoved into the back seat of the vehicle. After the vehicle was impounded they discovered traces of Rossing's blood in the back seat of Butcher's Expedition.

As the search for evidence continues near the fields where Nuttall and Butcher lived, Kelly says it's a case that's anything but closed.

"If I could say anything, I want the family to know that the investigation didn't stop today, just because we filed a complaint," Kelly said.

Butcher was arrested Friday morning and is being held in the Wright County jail. She is expected to be charged on Monday, with obstructing the investigation into Rossing's disappearance.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 763-682-7637.

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