High-speed Hwy. 97 stolen-car chase ends in arrest
The driver of a stolen pickup truck was chased by a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy on Highway 97 south of Madras Wednesday morning at speeds of over 100 mph. The suspect was eventually caught and arrested in Terrebonne, Sheriff Jim Adkins said.
The deputy attempted to stop a gray 2017 Chevy Silverado for a traffic violation near milepost 115, about 15 miles south of Madras, around 8:35 a.m., Adkins said. The deputy also had probable cause to believe the pickup had been stolen out of Deschutes County.
The driver, identified as Kori Knisley, 34, pulled over at first, then took off, heading south on the highway toward Redmond and reaching speeds of over 100 mph, the sheriff said.
The driver turned west on Northwest Pershall Way before stopping on Coyner Avenue and trying to run, but was apprehended by a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy.
Knisley, who declined to speak to deputies, was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on two felony warrants out of Deschutes County and new charges of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude police in a vehicle and on foot, reckless driving and methamphetamine possession, as well as four other Deschutes County warrants. His bail totaled $65,000.
Knisley was in the news last fall, when he was one of eight Bend and Redmond residents arrested on charges of stealing cars from dealers’ lots and trading them for drugs and money.
Adkins aid Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were assisted by Oregon State Police, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police Department and Bureau of Land Management.
