Deschutes SO K-9 finds hiding car-theft suspect

A traffic complaint of a possible drunk driver on U.S. Highway 97 north of La Pine Friday led to a brief pursuit of a pickup stolen earlier in the day in Lebanon. A Deschutes County sheriff’s K-9 found the fleeing driver hiding in a big pile of cut trees stacked by the railroad tracks, deputies said.

County 911 dispatchers got a call around 11:30 a.m. from someone reporting a possibly intoxicated driver heading south on the highway near milepost 149, said sheriff’s Lt. Tim Leak.

The dispatch center checked the license plate the driver called in and learned the black Ford pickup with a canopy had been reported stolen earlier Friday morning in Lebanon, Leak said.

Deputies found the pickup on the highway just north of La Pine, but the driver, later identified as Kyle Keith Martin, 24, of Lowell, Ore., refused to stop, leading to a pursuit that went for about a mile.

The chase ended near the intersection of Huntington Road and Prairie Drive, when the pickup left the road, heading cross-country, coming to a stop by the BNSF Railway tracks, where Martin ran away and the passenger was quickly detained, the lieutenant said.

An extensive search got underway, assisted by Oregon State Police, Sunriver police and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement to quickly set up a perimeter.

A police dog was called in to assist in the search. Sheriff’s K-9 Zeus and his handler arrived and after a brief search found Martin hiding in a large pile of cut trees stacked along the east side of the railroad tracks, Leak said.

Martin was taken into custody without incident and lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on several charges, including warrants out of Lane and Linn counties. His initial bail totaled nearly $77,000.

The passenger was not charged, Leak said.