PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) says deputies arrested a 24-year-old man on Oct. 23 after a stolen work van became stuck in a ditch.
Deputies dispatched to the scene at around 9:30 a.m. arrested the suspect on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and obstruction.
The PCSO says the response began after witnesses reported seeing a man hiding tools from the van in nearby bushes before walking away from the vehicle. Deputies then utilized witness descriptions to track the fleeing suspect.
Deputies say they used a drone to assist in tracking the suspect as he moved through nearby properties. The search led law enforcement officers through a beehive farm, past a chicken coop and into thick brush.
As deputies closed in on the man’s location, they say the suspect made a final attempt to run away before being arrested.
Police say multiple witnesses identified the 24-year-old suspect as the man who fled from the stolen work van.
The suspect told the PCSO he did not know why he was being arrested and said he was “pooping in the woods.”