A helping hand

A couple of summers back, we had someone run on foot after a vehicle chase ended. The suspect was chased into the woods, but he managed to hide once inside the wooded area. A text alert was sent out to warn people of the suspect’s location and for the next several days the suspect was tracked by the phone calls we received from citizens in the area, telling us where they had seen him and in what direction he was headed. After several days, he was arrested by deputies after receiving an alert of his location. Last week deputies again chased a suspect into the woods where he avoided capture by hiding. Once again, we used our text alert system to notify area residents and ask them to lock up their homes and vehicles. For the next couple of days, we received phone calls from area citizens alerting us to his location, but we received much more than just phone calls. We had help from area farmers by offering us ATV’s to drive out into the pastures, landowners unlocked gates to allow deputies to get their vehicles into the fields and there were several occasions that deputies were given water by nearby residents wanting to help in any way they could to catch the suspect.

It’s not always easy figuring out where someone may try to run when they know the Sheriff’s Office is after them but having one of the best tracker systems (area residents) can make all the difference when it comes to apprehending them. We once had a truck drive into a muddy field during a vehicle pursuit, but deputies were able to quickly catch up to the truck after a local farmer drove deputies out into the field where the truck was struggling to continue its attempt at escaping. Henry Ford said, “Unity is strength ... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

Whether it be citizens using drones to help us look for suspects, pilots flying deputies over fields, or people looking out for suspects and notifying us when they are spotted, we have been surrounded by people willing to help and working for the same goal, to make our community safer. One of the first foot pursuits I was in after becoming a police officer took me several miles from my patrol car. While out on foot I received another emergency call and the nearest help was miles away. A local resident stopped and offered to drive me back to my patrol car. What was probably a very small gesture in their mind was a very big help to me and the people waiting for law enforcement to arrive. Over the years I have seen law enforcement thrust into the national spotlight, but I have always felt grateful for the support and assistance we have always received from people in our community. Along with my staff, I would like to thank everyone that helped us during the recent search for a suspect, whose capture would not have been possible without your assistance.