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SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities searched Friday afternoon for a wanted man in southern Utah along I-70 in Grand County, according to a post on the Grand County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
The man, who officials said is white, was last seen wearing a baseball cap and carrying a backpack.
Authorities advised the public about 2 p.m. to not pick up hitchhikers along the highway and urged drivers to report people seen along the interstate by calling 911. A little before 7 p.m., officials said active search efforts were suspended.
The search began after a Utah Highway Patrol sergeant tried to pull the man over on state Route 6 for speeding and the man fled the scene, according to UHP Cpl. Colton Freckleton.
The sergeant pursued the man for about 5 miles, who was driving a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee, eastbound on state Route 6, according to UHP officials. The man then merged eastbound onto I-70 and took exit 164 and began driving off-pavement on dirt roads southeast of Green River. The pursuing sergeant ended the chase but responding Emery County deputies picked it back up on desert roads, UHP officials said.
After driving about 3 miles along the Mancus Deseret West Road, the man abandoned his car and continued fleeing on foot. Troopers responded to the incident and contained an about 15-mile perimeter in the area. Trackers followed fresh footprints but didn’t find the man, according to UHP.
Helicopter efforts were also unsuccessful in finding the man, officials said.
Authorities learned that the vehicle’s registered owner was known to law enforcement along the Wasatch Front and has fled before from other agencies, UHP officials said.
The man is listed with Adult Probation and Parole and has several warrants for his arrest, according to a UHP news release. Authorities involved in the search issued information through reverse 9-1-1 to the community and other local law enforcement agencies. The incident is under investigation, UHP said.
Freckleton said authorities had no reason to believe this case was related in any way to the two Arizona fugitives who escaped police custody earlier this week in Blanding.
