Grand Mound, Wash. — The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says deputies captured a suspect wanted for taking money from the Cowlitz Tribe after a long chase in Grand Mound.
The suspect is accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from the tribe. Deputies attempted to stop him after seeing him speed through a busy intersection at Old Highway 99 and Highway 12 with a passenger in the vehicle.
The driver failed to stop and fled from police.
At one point, he sped past two school buses.
Deputies later found the truck in a private driveway, where it crashed into a field. Cowlitz Tribal Police alerted deputies that they had probable cause to arrest both occupants of the truck for embezzlement.
The passenger was later found in a nearby yard. Deputies eventually found the driver with the help of K9 Igo, K9 Track, and a Washington State Patrol airplane.
He was located on a steep hillside near a creek.
Deputies obtained a warrant to search the truck and found a ziplock bag containing methamphetamine, an AR-15, a handgun without a serial number, and drug paraphernalia.
Both suspects were turned over to the Cowlitz Tribal Police.