Manhunt Continues For 2 After Police Chase In Pottawatomie County

A manhunt in Pottawatomie County began after a pursuit led deputies to a wooded area just south of Pink. 

Pottawatomie County officials said it started after one of their deputies tried to stop a vehicle for not having a tag and other traffic violations. That’s when the driver sped off. 

The chase led them to a rural area where the passenger got out of the vehicle and ran away. 

“The passenger in that vehicle bailed out,” said Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth. “My deputy stopped, engaged the passenger. He ran into a field up on a wood line.” 

Investigators said the suspect then turned around and pulled out a gun. 

“(He) Fired toward my deputy,” said Booth. “My deputy returned fire, moved to a better location. I called it in, 'shots fired.'”

The deputy wasn’t hit. They called out for a Shawnee SWAT team and used drones to try and track the suspect down. 

“So we’ve got a perimeter set up pretty good.” Booth said. “We’ve maintained that perimeter.” 

The suspect was last seen wearing a red sleeveless hoodie with black shorts and a black backpack. Officials said the driver took off and has also not been found.

“We got aircraft overhead, and now that the man tracking team is going in, hopefully we’ll get results sooner rather than later,” said Booth. 

Booth said the suspect vehicle is an older red SUV. He’s asking people to avoid this area for now as this investigation continues.