Mr. Stephens was given his order of McNuggets, but workers tried to make him wait by holding on to his French
fries while calling the police after one of the workers recognized him as the subject of the manhunt.
Mr. Stephens encountered the police after stopping at the McDonald’s on Buffalo Road in Erie County,
where employees at the restaurant recognized him as he used the drive through to order food.
“This started with one tragedy and ended with another person taking his own life.”
About two hours before Mr. Stephens was found, Peter J. Elliott, the United States marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, suggested at a news conference on Tuesday morning
that the suspect’s death would be one of two likely outcomes.
“But he just took his nuggets and said, ‘I have to go,’ and he drove off,” Mr. Sayers said, adding
that Mr. Stephens did not speed away but left the restaurant at a normal clip.
Mr. Stephens said in a video on Sunday that he had killed multiple people, but the police said there was only one known victim.
