The husband of an OU student was charged Wednesday morning with kidnapping his wife, domestic violence and resisting arrest after eluding police for more than 20 hours, said Athens Police Department Ptl. Ron Brooks.

On Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., APD officers responded to a complaint of a disturbance at Russell's Riverside Service, 136 Columbus Road, where OU junior Sarah Beekman, 36 N. McKinley Apt.407, told police that Steven Mayers,25, had picked her up for lunch, drove her to a county road against her will, bound her hands and threatened to harm her, according to an APD report.

After Mayers drove her to Sunset Motel, 135 Columbus Road, Beekman escaped from him and ran to Russell's Riverside Service for help, according to the report.

Mayers fled the scene on foot before the officers arrived. The APD was not able to locate Mayers until yesterday morning when they found him at the Sunset Motel, according to a news release.

Wayne Russell, who was working at Russell's during the incident, said he and the other workers heard Beekman and Mayers arguing inside Mayers' car. Russell said it looked as if Beekman was trying to get out of the car.

A housekeeper at the Sunset Motel then came over to Russell's Riverside Service and yelled for the workers to call the police because she thought she had seen a gun in the car, Wayne Russell said.

Beekman got out of the car and ran to the auto shop with Mayers following after her, he said.

Wayne Russell's cousin, Mike Russell, approached Beekman.

"Mike told (Beekman) to go and lock herself in the bathroom, and then he called the cops because he didn't know what was going on," Wayne Russell said.

The workers saw Mayers walk into the auto shop carrying brake fluid, which they warned Mayers not to drink, he said.

"He was just going crazy," Wayne Russell said. "He was yelling everything like, 'I want to die. I want to die.'"

Mayers began to drink the brake fluid, and another worker, Butch Russell, grabbed him and made him calm down, Wayne Russell said.

After about five minutes, Mayers calmed down, and Butch Russell let him go, he said.

At that point, Mayers started to walk toward the bathroom where Beekman was, but changed his mind and fled the area, Wayne Russell said.

"We weren't trying to get involved in anything," he said. "We were trying to keep someone from getting hurt or killed."

Brooks, who helped with the search Tuesday night, said the APD ended the search Tuesday night after the Sheriff Department's police dog tracked Mayers along the river bank and lost the scent.

Mayers was taken to O'Blenness Memorial Hospital around 11 a.m. Wednesday to be treated for ingesting brake fluid, but later was transported by life-flight to the Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, according to O'Blenness Hospital.

After being evaluated in the emergency room, the hospital admitted him, according to an OSU Hospital representative. No further information was available.

Lt. Anthony Fish, who is investigating the incident, was not available for comment.

The incident is still under investigation, according to the release.