OSP releases details of Lake County manhunt, arrest of armed fugitive that prompted public alert
(Update: OSP IDs suspect, releases details of crimes, manhunt)
LAKEVIEW, Ore. (KTVZ) – A major manhunt on the ground and in the air Thursday located a suspect in a multi-state crime spree in the Warner Mountains east of Lakeview, armed with a stolen handgun and about six miles from where his abandoned pickup truck was found, Oregon State Police said Friday.
OSP had warned the public about the “armed and dangerous” suspect, identified as Jamie Lee Cochran, who has spent time in West Virginia and Utah but is currently transient, according to troopers.
Last Sunday, OSP said, Cochran is believed to have burglarized a Salt Lake City day care, where he stole a van that was driven through the fence of the business. That van was found later in Elko, Nevada.
Last Tuesday, Cochran is believed to have stolen a quad that was then driven to a home where a home invasion robbery took place, troopers said. A Dodge Dakota pickup was stolen from that home.
Wednesday morning, Humboldt County, Nevada sheriff’s deputies tried to pull over the pickup driver, who began trying to elude deputies and headed toward Oregon, prompting notification of Oregon authorities.
Lake County, Oregon sheriff’s deputies and OSP troopers responded on state Highway 140 toward Nevada. A deputy and OSP trooper spotted the pickup on Highway 140 just east of Adel. The driver began eluding officers and drove off-road onto private farm fields. Deputies and troopers lost sight of the pickup a short time later.
More troopers were called in to help search for the driver, who had not yet been identified as Cochran. The ground search was helped by an OSP plane, a helicopter and plane from the California Highway Patrol and one from the Washoe County, Nevada Sheriff’s Office. The ground search involved more than 50 officers from several jurisdiction, who couldn’t find Cochran or the pickup.
On Thursday, around 12:15 p.m., Cochran was taken into custody in the Fremont National Forest, in the Warner Mountains, by an OSP Fish and Wildlife sergeant, a U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement officer and a Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement ranger. The stolen pickup was found in the McDowell Creek area west of Plush.
Cochran was lodged in the Lake County Jail on outstanding warrants from Elko, Nevada. More charges of felony elude, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and first-degree theft (possession of a stolen firearm) are pending.
Other agencies involved in the investigation included the Elko County, Nevada Sheriff’s Office, Salt Lake City Police and Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement.
