Missing person located, and then arrested

The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office said that they assisted in an investigation that started on Tuesday when the Ocean Shores Police Department was dispatched to a welfare check within the city of Ocean Shores. 

According to a witness, a man was slumped over the wheel of his vehicle in a parking lot. When an Ocean Shores officer responded, they say that the driver was showing signs of impairment and when he was contacted the man fled from the scene at a high rate of speed.  

The officer gave chase, but when the man began driving recklessly, forcing oncoming vehicles off the roadway, the direct pursuit was terminated due to safety concerns for the public.

Shortly after the pursuit was called off, a witness reported to the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office deputies that a man was seen running from a vehicle that had become disabled in a creek.  

Deputies responded and located the vehicle abandoned. A search of the area did not find the man, but a bag in the brush nearby was found containing the suspect’s identification and large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine that were packaged for sales.  

The man, who was also identified by the Ocean Shores officers body camera footage, had a felony warrant for his arrest out of the US Marshall’s Office for a probation violation on an original charge of delivery of a controlled substance. 

The following day the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a missing person when the suspect’s girlfriend reported that her boyfriend ran from the police and nobody had heard from him since. She believed he was lost in the nearby woods.

Approximately 12 hours later the man was located by deputies with the assistance of neighbors.  

During a search of the suspect, it was discovered that he had approximately $4,500 in cash on his person and suspected cocaine in his wallet.  He was treated at the hospital for hypothermia and then later booked into the jail on his outstanding warrant. 

The suspect is charged with Felony Eluding and Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.