An inmate was found dead Sunday at the Kansas´ Wyandotte County jail. Here's what we know

Matthew Kelly, The Kansas City Star on May 25, 2026

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An inmate was found dead at the Wyandotte County Detention Center late Sunday evening, the sheriff’s office announced in a news release.

Authorities have not yet released the name of the inmate or said whether they believe foul play was involved. The inmate, who was found unresponsive at approximately 10:35 p.m. during routine security checks, was a 78-year-old white man, according to the release.

“Life saving measures were conducted and EMS was ordered,” the sheriff’s office statement reads. “EMS arrived on scene and pronounced the individual deceased. (The Kansas Bureau of Investigation) was contacted to conduct the investigation.”

The release added that no further information would be made public until the inmate’s next of kin had been notified.

The sheriff’s office and the KBI did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the inmate or the circumstances of his death on Monday morning.

The last inmate to die at the Wyandotte County Detention Center was Charles Adair, a 50-year-old Black man whose death was ruled a homicide after a deputy in the jail knelt on his back for over a minute, according to an autopsy report obtained by The Star. That guard is facing second-degree murder charges.