Interstate 29 was shut down in Platte County after an individual was seen pointing a rifle at traffic Friday morning.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that an armed man was reported at a rest area near Dearborn. Troopers and members of the Platte County Sheriff’s Department attempted to negotiate with the individual for most of the morning, but the suspect did not respond. The man eventually surrendered without any violence or shots fired at around 1 p.m.

The man was taken to the Platte County Jail for further questioning. His name has not been released.

Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop A explained how the situation was resolved.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Lowe said. “We obviously don’t know what his intent was, but anytime somebody is pointing a rifle in the direction of anybody, it could be a catastrophic situation. But again, we’re glad it came to a peaceful conclusion.”

Brennan Willoughby, a boilermaker from Kentucky, was sleeping with his family at the rest area in an RV when the incident began. He said the family stopped for a nap around 5 a.m. so they could recover for their journey to Idaho, where he plans to start a new job. The family’s slumber was disturbed roughly three hours later when law enforcement banged on the door of the RV and told Willoughby he and his family had to leave. They were first taken to the main building of the rest area, then evacuated along with a handful of truck drivers and travelers to the Trex Mart gas station near Camden Point.

Willoughby said the magnitude of the situation took a while to set in.

“It was so fast, it really didn’t even set in until we were riding here,” Willoughby said. “I saw the interstate shut down and I was like, ‘There’s really a guy there with a gun.’ I grabbed my daughter and that was it. That’s the only thing I was really worried about. I didn’t think about anything else.”

The Highway Patrol, Sheriff’s Department, Missouri Department of Transportation and others closed the interstate in both directions during the incident. Southbound traffic was rerouted to Missouri Highway 371 at the Dearborn exit, while northbound traffic was rerouted to the same road at the Camden Point exit. Traffic along Highway 371 eventually became so heavy that the patrol recommended travelers use Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 36 for a lengthy detour that would have taken drivers as far east as Cameron, Missouri, in their efforts to travel between Kansas City and St. Joseph.

Interstate 29 reopened to traffic in both directions around 1:30 p.m. The situation caused massive traffic backups just one week after I-29 ground to a halt due to an ice storm.

Katy Schwartz Drowns, a Central High School teacher, said she was stuck near Faucett, Missouri, for more than 50 minutes as she was trying to make the journey to Independence to spend Christmas with her family. She noted she was stuck in about the same spot as friends and students who encountered the same situation for a different reason last week.

“I can see the Dearborn water tower on the hill,” she said as traffic was stopped. “We are completely stopped in both lanes. There are MoDOT vehicles and sheriffs and state troopers everywhere. We are at a complete standstill. This is becoming a trend on this highway.”