CARRINGTON (AP) - A nurse says he escorted an Eddy County murder suspect to surrender but county officials refused to accept custody of the man.

Leslie Olafson, 57, of New Rockford, is charged in the June 10 death of Selmer Veen, 83, a retired area farmer whose body was found his garage.

Olafson had been hospitalized since the night of Veen's death after he was seriously injured in a rollover accident near Hamar, about 35 miles northeast of New Rockford. He had been transferred to the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota.

On Sunday, Olafson was escorted by two nurses to Carrington, where he planned to surrender, said Philip Krasowski, one of nurses.

Krasowski said he called ahead and told Eddy County authorities Olafson planned to surrender. He said he was told by Travis Peterson, the county's state's attorney, that the county refused to accept custody because it did not want responsibility for Olafson's medical bills.

"No sheriff ever showed up," Krasowski said.

Peterson did not immediately return calls Monday seeking comment.

Krasowski said he and Olafson and the other nurse waited in the parking lot of Carrington Health Center for hours Sunday afternoon. After about five hours with no response from Eddy County, he said, Olafson's pain became severe enough that Krasowski decided he should be taken to the emergency room.

Nurses at the Carrington Health Center declined to confirm that Olafson was admitted. The Forum reported Monday that the center allowed Krasowski to fax a statement signed by Olafson, announcing his intention to surrender to Eddy County and face criminal charges.

"I return to North Dakota voluntarily with nurses helping me as I have physical disabilities currently," the statement said.

Olafson taught English in New Rockford in the 1970s before moving to San Diego. In the past year, he had worked at New Rockford's golf course and a bar in Carrington.