A couple in a car in a cornfield near Worthington’s sewage treatment plant attracted the attention of WPD officers last Saturday night. They said they were camping. One person ended up in jail, charged with meth possession.

Amanda Kristine May, 36, Lewis, was arrested by Deputy Marshal Ryan Montgomery of the Worthington Police Department on Saturday, September 19.

Last Saturday night, WPD Deputy Marshal Hunter Golden was on duty and was stopped with a suspicious vehicle, a gray 2006 Mazda 5, that was out in a cornfield near Worthington’s sewage treatment plant south of Worthington on County Road 200 West near CR 500 North.

Officer Golden reported seeing the Mazda coming out of the woods near the White River. He identified the driver to be Troy Hostetter, who said he had permission from the property owner to be camping on the property.

Officer Montgomery, the investigating officer, responded to assist around 8:57 p.m. When he checked property records, he found the property was now owned by a different property owner. Both Hostetter and Amanda May, who was a passenger, were asked to exit the vehicle.

When asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, May said she had a handgun and ammunition in a locked case on the passenger side floorboard but she admitted she did not have a handgun permit. She consented to letting officers check her handgun and purse but held onto a small pink bag and a wallet and refused consent to search those items and Hostetter declined consent to search the vehicle.

Worthington Town Marshal Jim O’Malley then arrived to assist on the scene and the officers also requested a K9 officer to respond. At that point, May allegedly admitted she had three grams of methamphetamine, a pipe and a couple of pills inside her pink bag and said they were hers, not Hostetter’s.

When a K9 arrived and a free air sniff was conducted, the K9 alerted to the presence of an illegal substance in the vehicle and Hostetter then consented to a search.

Officer Montgomery reported that Marshal O’Malley did not find any illegal drugs, weapons or paraphernalia inside the vehicle, except for what was found in May’s pink bag – which field-tested positive as methamphetamine.

Hostetter was released and May was taken into custody and transported to the Greene County Jail. She was booked in at 11:07 p.m. Saturday and was being held without bond pending court appearance.

A criminal case was filed today. May is facing preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.