WHEATLAND - School officials locked down two buildings here Thursday after an Evansville man allegedly sent three high school students a text message threatening to kill them, then himself.

As of Thursday evening, the suspect, who is now sought on felony charges for making the threats, had not been found.

Platte County School District Superintendent Stuart Nelson ordered the Wheatland high school and a next-door elementary school locked down at about 12:40 p.m. after students who received the threatening text notified authorities.

Within about 15 minutes of telling teachers about the threats, students obtained a photograph of the suspect from a MySpace website, and forwarded that to law enforcement in Platte, Converse and Natrona counties. The suspect, a young adult who lives in Evansville and has ties to Glenrock, is not currently enrolled in school, Nelson said.

Students were held at school until about 5 p.m., when authorities received a signal from a cell phone locator indicating the suspect was in Casper, Nelson said.

"We were not going to let the kids out until we had confirmation he was not in Platte County," Nelson said.

Most parents were understanding, he said, although some didn't seem to appreciate the severity of the situation. Following the release, law enforcement officers met with the three threatened students and their parents. Classes in Wheatland will be held as scheduled today.