A 20-year-old West Virginia fugitive wanted on kidnapping charges was shot and killed by law enforcement on Wednesday afternoon, ending a two-day manhunt that began when he opened fire on a sheriff's deputy during a routine traffic stop, authorities said.

Hayden Hart, of Wardensville, was pulled over by a Hardy County deputy on Monday. Hart was wanted on outstanding Hampshire County warrants for kidnapping and wanton endangerment, according to WHSV. When the deputy moved to arrest him, Hart produced a firearm and opened fire. The deputy returned fire, wounding Hart, who got back into his vehicle and fled into the Monongahela National Forest along Waites Run, according to WV MetroNews.

The Hardy County Sheriff's Office publicly circulated a description of Hart — 5-foot-10, about 195 pounds, with red hair — and warned residents he was considered "possibly armed and dangerous" as the search stretched into a second day. No officers were injured in the initial exchange of gunfire.

Cornered at a Break-In

Hart evaded capture in the rugged forest terrain for roughly two days before officers located him around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at a home on Waites Run that he had broken into, Sheriff Steven Dawson told WV MetroNews. As a Hardy County deputy, a Hampshire County deputy and a West Virginia Natural Resources Police officer moved in to take him into custody, Hart again opened fire on them. The officers returned fire and fatally wounded him. None of the three officers were hurt.

The Hardy County Sheriff's Department, the Hampshire County Sheriff's Department, the West Virginia State Police and the state Division of Natural Resources' Natural Resources Police Section all took part in the manhunt across the two rural counties in the state's eastern panhandle.

An investigation into the shooting is underway, standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in West Virginia. No further details on the specific charges Hart faced in the underlying kidnapping case, or on the condition of any alleged victim, have been released.

The case is the second deadly shootout involving Hardy County deputies in recent years for the small sheriff's office, which serves a county of roughly 14,000 people along the Virginia border. Wardensville, where Hart lived, sits about 20 miles from where he was ultimately cornered.

Authorities have not indicated whether additional charges will be filed posthumously or whether any other individuals were involved in the original kidnapping allegation that triggered the warrants.