The Oregon State Police is asking for the public’s help in finding a man who led law enforcement on a chase – both in a vehicle and on foot – in Hermiston Wednesday night after allegedly stealing a vehicle in Pendleton.
The incident began around 9:38 a.m., when an Oregon State trooper from the Hermiston area checked a speeding vehicle traveling 93 miles per hour on Interstate 84 eastbound near milepost 188. Upon overtaking the vehicle, it accelerated to 105 miles per hour and exited Interstate 84 onto Interstate 82. The vehicle then exited Interstate 82 at exit 10 and crashed into a guardrail. The driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, fled on foot into an adjacent corn field.
Law enforcement officers from Hermiston Police Department, Umatilla Police Department, Boardman Police Department, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded to the scene and helped to establish a perimeter.
The perimeter was maintained for approximately five hours and the suspect was spotted numerous times during the search of the 150-acre corn field. While searching for the suspect, troopers learned the vehicle the suspect was driving – a 2006 Silver Toyota pickup – had been stolen earlier in the morning from the Pendleton area. Despite using a tracking K9 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife as well as drones from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect got away.
The suspect is a Hispanic male adult last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, white Raiders baseball cap, shorts and has a mustache or goatee. The suspect may have suffered injuries during the crash and OSP is asking the public to call law enforcement should a person matching the suspect’s description be seen in the area of the Interstate 84, Interstate 82 and Westland Road.
