Authorities believe that an unidentified suspect still on the run after a police chase Thursday night in the San Juan National Forest northeast of Bayfield is no longer in the vicinity, according to Captain Adrian Driscoll with the Colorado State Patrol.
“We have good intelligence that he has left the area,” Driscoll said. “He had a cell phone and GPS, so we’re assuming that he got a ride from a friend.”
The chase began at about 6:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 160 near the Archuleta-La Plata county line, when a trooper attempted to stop a Toyota Highlander for driving without its headlights on.
The driver of the vehicle, which was pulling a trailer, led police on a chase up First Notch Road (Forest Service Road 620) in the Beaver Meadows area until the road became impassable due to snow.
The two suspects fled on foot after detaching the trailer – which police said was stolen and full of ammunition, tools and equipment – and setting it on fire, in an apparent attempt to deter pursuing officers.
One suspect was arrested Friday when he surrendered after being spotted by a helicopter about one mile from the abandoned vehicle, which also was set on fire. Dan Bender of the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office said it was undetermined whether the vehicle also was stolen.
The person in custody, a 28-year-old man from Alamosa, is currently in Pagosa Springs and was treated for frostbite and early stages of hypothermia.
“He just realized that we had him surrounded and then the air support was the last draw,” Driscoll said. “He was going to be taken into custody sooner or later.”
Driscoll said they have no information about why the men fled and why they stole the trailer.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” he said. “We’re interviewing the suspect that we have and hopefully more will come out of that.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com
