Police are searching for a possible kidnapping suspect in the East Valley

MESA, Ariz. – Police officers are searching the East Valley area for a possible kidnapping suspect.

Mesa police said a woman came into an Angry Crab Shack location near Loop 202 and Guadalupe Road claiming to be the victim of a kidnapping. The suspect was still on site and fled.

Arizona Department of Public Safety units began pursuing the suspect and Mesa police officers were dispatched to the scene.

A police helicopter is currently searching for the suspect and the crime scene is still active, police said.

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The locals call the Phoenix metropolitan area “The Valley”. It is considered the largest metropolitan region in the southwest.

The valley consists of several major cities other than Phoenix, including:

• Mesa
• Chandler
• Scottsdale
• Tempe
• Glendale
• Surprise
• Peoria
• Gilbert
• El Mirage
• Avondale
• Litchfield Park
• Good year
• buckeye

Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or the “West Valley” depends on where it is located in relation to Phoenix.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the valley’s cities have a combined population of 4,845,832 people. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country, just behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.

How big is Maricopa County?

According to the 2020 Census, Maricopa County is the fourth most populous county in the United States with a population of 4,485,414.

The county contains approximately 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles in size. This makes the county larger than seven US states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).

One of the largest park systems in the country is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks, which include hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.

The county seat is in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the fifth largest city in the United States according to the census.

The county was named after the Maricopa or Piipaash Indian tribe.