Bend-area homeowner helps police catch fugitive

Kent Couch said he was working outside on a small addition to his home just east of Bend on Monday evening when a man approached and shouted to ask if he’d seen his brother’s dog, a great Dane that had gotten away from him on a walk.

It turned out the man was Michael David Young, a 38-year-old Colorado fugitive who had fled his minivan, leaving his wife and young son behind after an alleged incident of domestic violence, and eluded an extensive manhunt in the area for several hours, including three K-9 teams and two drones.

Pretty soon, Couch said he’d noted the man was in somewhat rough shape, “then it clicked that earlier, cops were at and all around the home,” looking for a man.

“I brought the phone out to him. He said he was going to call his wife to come get him,” Couch recalled Tuesday. “His hands were shaking so bad, I ended up texting my own address in” on the phone.

“Then I went inside to dial 911, say the guy was here,” Couch said. He said he looked out and “saw him in my yard, hiding in the bushes.”

Before Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies arrived, Couch said the man “was dodging behind bushes, waiting for his ride, which pretty much told me he was the guy.”

“A few minutes later, here come the cops – and it was all over with,” Couch said.

“I could tell he was not walking a dog. His shirt was torn up, legs scratched up, his clothes were wet and the only water nearby is an irrigation ditch,” Couch said. “It was pretty easy to put two and two together.”

Couch said his wife had called him earlier about the manhunt and said police were going through the house and outbuilding. “I didn’t know what he looked like.”

“I didn’t have a plan, other than to stay calm and not let him know I was onto him,” Couch said. He said he had a claw hammer from the building project on his side and while he had heard the man might be armed, he didn’t see a weapon.

Was he scared? (Bend residents might recall Couch for more than his old-fashioned service station. He’s also known for his headline-grabbing, high-altitude lawn chair balloon rides hundreds of miles to the east several years ago. So clearly, he doesn’t get scared too easily.)

“He put me at ease,” Couch said of Young. “He was calm, easygoing, other than his hands shook a little bit. I didn’t know at the time what he was wanted for. His story seemed untrue, once I looked at him, had seen his condition.”

“I thought law enforcement did an excellent job to get him pinned into an area,” Couch said. “He seemed awfully tired by the time he got to me.”