A Livingston County deputy attempted to stop a vehicle Saturday which was traveling westbound on U.S. 36, as the occupant was believed have one or more felony arrest warrants.
As the Deputy attempted to stop the vehicle about 3 miles east of Chillicothe, the driver continued westbound, finally stopping near U.S. 65 with the suspect exiting the passenger door. The suspect then refused to comply with the requests issued by the deputy who then deployed a taser on the individual, but saw little to no noticeable reaction. The fugitive then returned to the vehicle and drove off, continuing westbound until coming to a stop on U.S. 36 at the Grand River. The suspect then exited the car, put on a backpack, and jumped off the bridge into the river.
The deputy reported seeing the backpack floating down stream and saw the fugitive swimming toward the bank. The sheriff’s deputy then attempted to get in a better position to apprehend the suspect but never saw the suspect again.
Multiple Emergency Responders from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, Chillicothe Police, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Chillicothe Department of Emergency Services, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Missouri State Highway Patrol Water Response have been searching the area by land and water.
The search continues this Saturday evening, however, at the time of this article, emergency responders have not located the suspect or any evidence suggesting the man exited the water. The air temperature was in the 40’s with strong winds and the water temperature cold. With the rain today the Grand River was still low at the time of this incident and estimated at 8 feet in depth where the suspect entered the water.
The driver of the car was arrested for alleged possession of methamphetamine, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering prosecution. That individual was transferred to the Daviess-Dekalb County Regional Jail.
