Vehicle Prowlers Lead Law Enforcement on Dangerous High Speed Chase Through NCW

A report of a theft from a vehicle at Walla Walla Point Park at 11:20 am Thursday turned into a very long pursuit that reached speeds around 100 miles per.

The suspect vehicle, a newer Dodge Grand Caravan, was then spotted about 10 minutes later by Wenatchee police going over the George Sellar Bridge into East Wenatchee. A chase ensued with the Caravan reaching speeds up to 90 mph on Sunset Highway in East Wenatchee. Officers disengaged around 19th Street for the safety of other motorists.

According to Wenatchee Police Captain Edgar Reinfeld, the Caravan was then pick back up by the State Patrol as it headed over the Odabashian Bridge traveling over 100 mph. The suspect vehicle eventually took a right onto Easy Street in the Sunnyslope area, and it was at that point State Patrol lost sight of the Caravan.

While law enforcement searched the area, a Chelan County Sheriff's Deputy spotted the suspect vehicle near Peshastin Pinnacles State Park and the pursuit began again. The Caravan eventually headed south on Highway 97 toward Blewett Pass, when Sheriff's deputies were forced to end the pursuit again because of the conditions.

"But, you can't outrun the radio very easily." said Reinfeld, "So State Patrol in Kittitas County was able to pick up the vehicle as it came into the Teanaway area."

The Caravan was eventually disabled by a spike strip set up by the State Patrol and the suspects gave up.

Two unidentified men were arrested and both are facing theft and vehicle prowl charges. The driver will also face charges pertaining to the pursuit. The vehicle was impounded and is pending a search warrant.

The suspect vehicle ended up being a rental from Bellevue registered to someone believed to be the victim of identity theft.

"The interesting thing about this is that this is a pattern of behavior we've seen for well over a year here in Wenatchee." continued Reinfeld, "Frequently rental cars pull up, one or two males hop out of the car, smash out a window, or if the vehicle is unlocked just get in there, and grab a purse, backpack, whatever valuables may be visible. They then jump back in the car and disappear. It's almost exclusively at parking lots in parks."

Reinfeld added that in previous cases, vehicles have been believed to visit Fred Meyer in East Wenatchee before heading southeast on State Route 28 towards I-90. Suspects then head toward the Spokane area before traveling south to Oregon, west through Oregon, and eventually up back into Western Washington.

It is likely the two suspects were also involved in a vehicle prowl at Rotary Park earlier in the day.