Photographer Arrested For Paragliding Over Feedlot

Finney County authorities say a freelance photographer working for National Geographic was arrested and briefly detained after he shot pictures of a feedlot near Garden City while on a paraglider.

George Steinmetz, of Glenn Ridge, N.J., and his paraglider instructor, Wei Zhang, of Beijing, China, were arrested for misdemeanor criminal trespass on June 28 after flying over the feedlot. The Hutchinson News reports they were held briefly in the Finney County jail before each paid a $270 bond and were released.

Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue says Steinmetz and Zhang didn’t have permission to launch their paraglider from private property and they didn’t tell anyone they were going to take photos from the air.

National Geographic spokeswoman Beth Foster says the organization doesn’t believe Steinmetz broke the law.