A rainy spring and construction cost overruns did in Wild West World before it ever found its stride, says co-owner Thomas Etheredge, who announced Monday the theme park has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has closed its doors two months after it opened.

Etheredge read a prepared statement and did not field questions from the media Monday. With four attorneys by his side, he said Wild West World was in debt for more than $24 million.

"To continue would have been ludicrous," he said. " ... put yourselves in our shoes. We are literally giving up everything."

Etheredge shocked Wichita earlier in the day by announcing that Kansas' first theme park would be shutting down. He blamed record-breaking spring rain for the park's demise.

"The weather and lack of cash flow have made it impossible for us to keep (Wild West World) open," Etheredge said in an e-mail sent late Monday morning. "It pains us to reach this point, but we have to close the park and find a buyer who can reopen and run it. We hate to do it, but we don't see any other alternative."

Etheredge said he will look into finding a buyer for the park. Wild West World will not re-open until a new owner is found, he said.

"There are a number of potential buyers from around the world," Etheredge said. "We had started the process of selling, but nothing happened soon enough. ... There is a buyer somewhere."

The decision to file was difficult because Etheredge said he had dreamed of providing southcentral Kansas with the state's first theme park. Feasibility studies indicated to him it was a viable endeavor and to prove it, he and his wife Cheryl put up a good deal of their own money to finance the $30 million project in nearby Park City.

"We mortgaged our home, ranch and the land where we operate our 8-year-old business, the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper," he said. "We also invested millions of dollars in personal cash savings. Nearly every dollar and every asset we owned was pledged to bring to pass our dream of a family theme park in Kansas."

Officials with the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau say they were saddened by the news that Wild West World was closing.

"It's a great loss and a huge setback," says Olivia Simmons, CVB vice president. "Wild West World had the potential of bringing thousands of visitors and we're hoping that because of that demand a buyer can be found in the future."

Simmons visited the park on several occasions and says it would have been nice to see how it fared without the weather problems.

Wild West World opened to the public May 5, the day after Greensburg was leveled by a tornado, which dampened the spirit of the region.

"The community wasn't in a theme park mood," Etheredge said. "The entire State was in shock."

What followed was rain. A lot of rain. Etheredge said it rained 50 of the park's first 60 days of operation. In a June 22 story in the Wichita Business Journal, Etheredge said the park is down by about 1,000 visitors a day from his original projections.

The Etheredges have retained the law firm of Redmond & Nazar LLP.

Attorney W. Thomas Gilman said any creditors with a claim should file it with the bankruptcy court clerk. Claims can be filed in the next 90 days and can be done in person or by mail. Gilman said that more than 15,000 season passes had been sold. Etheredge and his attorneys will meet with major creditors this week, Gilman said.