Law enforcement officers were chasing two suspects Monday afternoon in Greenwood County in Southeast Kansas in connection with the beating of a Mayetta man who was found Monday morning north of Lawrence near the Kansas River levee.

The Mayetta man, 21-year-old Josh Greemore, was taken by helicopter to a Kansas City-area hospital, where he was in serious to critical condition, according to Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a Lawrence police spokesman.

Greemore was discovered by a passerby about 6:40 a.m. in the Riverfront Park area and had sharp and blunt injuries to his head and upper chest, Pattrick said.

Greemore’s last known address was at the Jayhawk Motel, 1004 N. Third St., in North Lawrence, Pattrick said.

Monday afternoon police were conducting a crime scene investigation at the motel and had four rooms blocked off with crime scene tape. Pattrick said that they had found a blue 1991 Geo Storm that was missing from the motel.

The car was found Monday afternoon parked in Greenwood County, Pattrick said. When sheriff’s officers approached the car, two men jumped out and fled on foot and the sheriff’s officers were in pursuit, according to Pattrick.

Lawrence investigators were to drive down to Greenwood County to continue the investigation, Pattrick said.

For updates on this story, see the 6News report at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s cable Channel 6 and pick up a copy of Tuesday’s Journal-World.