Man tries to escape in stolen kayak, prompting Washington police to go on wild chase on river

By Martin Bilbao
The Olympian (Olympia, Washington)

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A Steilacoom man driving a stolen car used a kayak to escape from police on the Chehalis River last week, Centralia police report.

Centralia police arrested the 39-year-old man on June 6 with the assistance of multiple agencies, according to a Thursday news release.

The man was booked into the Lewis County Jail on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and second-degree theft, the press release said.

The incident began around 8 a.m. when Centralia Police received a Flock Safety alert about a stolen vehicle in the area. Several local agencies, including Olympia Police, have recently begun Flock cameras to automatically capture vehicle information such as license plates on local roads.

Centralia investigators responded to the call and located a 2006 Scion station wagon. The driver of the station wagon stopped, but officers reported that he did not comply with orders to exit the vehicle, the news release said.

According to police, the driver fled from Cooks Hill Road onto Summerside Drive, which has no exit. There he abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot into a “steep wooded area.”

A Centralia K9 dog tracked the man toward the Chehalis River and a drone pilot spotted the man running while carrying a blue kayak.

According to the press release, police claim the man stole the kayak from a nearby residence on River Heights Road and paddled it into the middle of the river.

According to police, the man refused to comply with several requests to stop. At one point, the news release states, a Centralia police sergeant fired several rounds of pepper spray into the water surrounding the suspect under the Galvin Road Bridge.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Patrol aircraft “Smokey” followed the man as he continued down the river. Police deployed kayaks with Riverside Fire Authority personnel to try to intercept the man.

The man eventually exited the river on the east side, about a mile north of Galvin Road, where he was met and arrested by a second canine unit, the news release said.

In addition to the new charges, the press release states that there were several arrest warrants against the man from neighboring counties.

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