Overland Park ? An Olathe man has been arrested in the abduction and death of 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, whose body was found Wednesday in a Missouri park.

Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass identified the suspect as Edwin R. Hall, 26. He is expected to be charged this morning with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

Douglass said Hall was interviewed mid-afternoon Wednesday after police acted on a tip that matched Hall and a vehicle to surveillance video from the Target store parking lot where Smith was abducted Saturday evening.

Smith’s body was found about 1:30 p.m. across the state line near Grandview, Mo., about 20 miles east of the abduction site.

Douglass declined to comment on circumstances of Hall’s questioning or evidence in the case, but said police had located a vehicle that matches the description of one seen in surveillance video pulling into the Target parking lot about a minute after Smith parked there.

He said Hall appeared to be the same person shown in the video walking into the Target soon after Smith entered the store.

Johnson County prosecutor Phill Kline said charges would be filed this morning.

“In the morning we will file premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges,” Kline said. “This community has lost a vibrant and promising life and her family has sufferered unimaginable tragedy.”

Kline said his office would ask the state to set bond at $5 million.

Positive identification was pending, but Douglass said volunteer searchers could stop their work. He did not say how the woman was slain.

“As I understand she was found at a wooded area, but I can’t say whether she was directly concealed by bushes,” Douglass told reporters during an afternoon news conference.

He said police were questioning “numerous people,” but had not identified a suspect. He said people should continue to call with tips about the case.

Before a memorial service Wednesday evening, Smith’s father, Greg Smith, thanked the hundreds of volunteers and everyone else involved in the search for his daughter.

“She could walk into a room full of strangers and walk out with a room full of friends,” Smith told the gathering Wednesday night, fighting tears.

“Her excitement and passion for life was unmatched,” he said. “She lived more in 18 years than many people do with a great deal more time.”

Officers had been searching the lake area since Tuesday after tracing signals from Smith’s cell phone. Investigators isolated two signals from an area in south Kansas City, Mo., about 20 miles east of the store parking lot where surveillance video showed Smith being shoved into her car Saturday night.

Douglass said police were still seeking information about a young man videotaped entering and leaving the Target store within moments of Smith. He said police still considered the unidentified man a “person of interest” and not a suspect.

Asked if people should be concerned that the suspect could still be at large, Douglass responded: “I think we all need to remain vigilant no matter what. I don’t want to overemphasize the importance of this, but we always need to use caution.”

‘You guys did not fail’

At Wednesday’s memorial service at Hillcrest Covenant Church in Prairie Village, Kan., the Rev. Mark Seversen repeatedly assured the gathered mourners that Smith’s death wasn’t their fault.

“No one should have to live a day like today,” Seversen said. “This shouldn’t have to be a part of life. We’re here this evening because it is. And for those young people who are here, Greg and Missey said that they wanted me to say something to you guys.

“You did an extraordinary thing. You stepped in and you stood for Kelsey and you gave your energy and your hearts and you made a statement about how extraordinary Kelsey is and how important her life is. You guys did not fail.”

Officers continued looking for information about a dark mid-1970s Chevrolet pickup that was seen entering the Target parking lot shortly after Smith’s car. Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, the pickup pulled into the parking lot aisle where Smith had parked about one minute earlier. A man is seen leaving the pickup and going into the Target store Smith had entered.

Lawrence police received a call late Wednesday morning from a person who claimed to have a seen a vehicle matching the description of a dark mid-1970s Chevrolet pickup that was seen entering the Target parking lot shortly after Smith’s car. The caller said they saw the pickup near Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive in Lawrence.

Lawrence police spokeswoman Kim Murphree said Wednesday that officers searched the area, but did not find anything associated with the case.

Reward increased

On Tuesday, police also released video showing a woman they believe is Smith being forced into her car.

Smith, who graduated from high school less than two weeks ago, left the store about 7:10 p.m. and put packages into her car when someone ran toward her, police said.

More than 50 detectives and officers from the area and the FBI were involved in the case, and hundreds of volunteers combed the area around the store in a desperate search.

The Smith family increased the reward for information about Kelsey’s disappearance to $30,000. Greg Smith, who has been in law enforcement for 16 years, described his daughter as an outgoing young woman who planned to be a veterinarian.

Kimberly Kincade, 39, was one of only a few people who remained Wednesday at the staging area in the Target parking lot, where hundreds of volunteers had been meeting daily since Sunday.

She was helping tape a large circle of posters to the asphalt. People had drawn on the posters with pictures and messages of hope before the news of the body being discovered.

“The person who is going to keep us the strongest is Kelsey,” Kincade said. “She’s up there looking down and saying, ‘I know this is bad, and I know that I’m not there with you anymore. I can’t hold you, and I can’t hug you. But both of my arms are wrapping around you, and I’m there with you.'”