[06/11/01] The 11-month search for a Natchez man accused of throwing his girlfriend off a cliff on U.S. 61 North has ended with the suspect being held in the Warren County Jail.

Edward Wells, 29, 10 Hillcrest Drive, was taken into custody by Warren County Sheriff’s deputies at about 7 p.m. Friday after they were notified that Natchez authorities had him in custody, jail records show.

Wells is being held without bond on a charge of aggravated assault. He was expected to make his first court appearance Monday.

On July 22, a beaten 29-year-old Patricia Rabb, who had been left for dead, was found by construction workers two miles north of Vicksburg.

An arrest warrant was issued for Wells four days later.

Authorities have said Rabb, also a Natchez resident, was thrown down a 25-foot embankment after the beating.

Rabb, in Vicksburg with Wells while he worked a construction job, had spent several months in the intensive care unit of a Jackson hospital.

There were no signs of sexual assault.

Warren County Sheriff’s detectives launched a search for Wells across Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.

The circumstances surrounding Wells’ arrest in Natchez were not available.

Wells’ case will be presented to the July term of the grand jury, according to jail records.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of aggravated assault.