Round Lake Park police: Marengo man held ex-girlfriend, toddler captive

A Marengo man broke into the home of an ex-girlfriend in Round Lake Park and held the 31-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son captive for several hours Thursday, according to a news release from the Round Lake Park Police Department.

Gary Reiher, 33, struck the woman repeatedly in the home on the 300 block of Highmoor Drive, the news release said. Reiher kept the woman from calling the police by dropping her cell phone in a toilet, but she was able to find an old phone capable of calling 911, according to the release.

When the police arrived around 10:50 a.m., Reiher escaped the home through a window in the back, the release said. The police dog unit from the Lake County sheriff's office found Reiher hiding under a deck 25 yards away, the release said.

Reiher, of the 500 block of Eisenhower Street in Marengo, was charged with home invasion, domestic battery and violating an order of protection. More charges are expected to be filed, the release said. Reiher is scheduled to appear in bond court Friday morning.