Crime and Courts

UPDATE: Manhunt ends, suspect in custody

Posted: Jul 15, 2012 7:53 PM
Updated: Jul 15, 2012 10:12 PM

RAW: Scene after high speed chase ends with manhunt along Interstate 90

UPDATE: A third suspect is in custody after leading authorities on a manhunt and high-speed chase Sunday afternoon, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

The man, that police have not yet identified, was apprehended around 6:20 p.m.

We expect more details soon.

Two people are in custody and one suspect remains at large after a high speed chase for 30 miles along Interstate 90 late this afternoon.

Police are currently pursuing a man whom they are unable to describe. They believe he is north of the interstate near the Milligan Canyon exit on I-90. MHP troopers say they are concerned for the safety of citizens and the man should be considered dangerous.

A command center is being set up near the Milligan Canyon exit and a search is underway. The man is believed to be traveling on foot.

At about 3 p.m. a woman in Belgrade at the Albertson's reported she had been robbed in the parking lot. She said the people fled in a small red car with Washington plates.

A short time later an MHP officer saw a car matching that description near Manhattan on the interstate. The trooper waited for backup then began a chase. Officials say the car exited the interstate at Logan but immediately re-entered and a pursuit ensued at speeds of 85 to 100 miles per hour heading westbound on the interstate.

Jefferson County deputies and MHP troopers deployed stop sticks on the Cardwell hill. Before the car got to the stop sticks, it turned around and started heading eastbound in the westbound lanes of the interstate. MHP ceased pursuit when that happened. Officers took the Milligan exit and saw signs that car spun out and traveled west on Cottonwood Road. They headed down Cottonwood Road and found the car on a hillside in a ditch.

When troopers approached, the two passengers exited and got down on ground, but the driver jumped out with a knife in his hands. He dropped the knife and fled north towards the interstate. At that time, a storm moved in and they lost track of the man in the bad weather.

The two people in custody are a male and juvenile female. Officials believe they are from Washington State but neither of them are cooperating.

Officers don't' know what the man who escaped looks like because weather conditions were so bad as he fled.
They stress that the man is considered dangerous and that he hurt the victim in the robbery in Belgrade.

We will bring you more information on this as it becomes available.