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Whit Johnson Reporting An inmate carjacks a police van, leads police on a high speed chase, and now is behind bars.
West Wendover police are investigating how it all began, and family of the suspect want to know the same.
In an exclusive interview, some family members told us they're devastated, especially because Brandon Clough's little brother has been helping Brandon recover from alcohol abuse problems.
While they recognize Brandon made a serious mistake, they also say police have some questions to answer.
It was a wild ride for authorities yesterday afternoon when a suspect in a carjacked police van lead them on a 41 mile chase outside of Wendover.
Christopher Clough / Suspect's brother: "I was scared for Brandon. I mean, he's not the type of person that would usually do that."
The suspect was 26-year-old Brandon Clough, originally arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Brandon was on his way to the Elko County jail when the driver of his police transport van stopped at a gas station to fill a tire with air.
Clough managed to get behind the wheel and take off.
Christopher Clough / Suspect's brother: "I'm his little big brother because he's smaller and I'm taller than him."
And it's more than just height that leads to Christopher Clough's role as Brandon's little big brother.
Christopher Clough / Suspect's brother: "He's actually had a lot of drinking. He's gotten in trouble for it as well. But since I had him move into our house so I could shape him up, he's changed drastically."
But it seems Brandon's drinking got the better of him once again. Christopher says Brandon was in Wendover celebrating his birthday, and became so drunk he didn't even remember the events leading to his arrest.
Christopher describes Brandon as a man with two personalities... when sober he's a loving brother and uncle. When he's intoxicated, he's unpredictable.
Christopher Clough / Suspect's brother: "What I'm trying to do is turn him into someone better than what he was, and I feel like I failed."
Questions for the West Wendover police department still remain. Did something go wrong? How did Brandon get to the front seat? Why was the key left in the car?
Police insist Brandon's escape was a fluke, but they're not giving many details about the investigation yet.
West Wendover police declined an on-camera interview with us, and say they will not elaborate further on the investigation until Monday.
Brandon's family hopes they'll get some answers soon. But for now, they're just thankful no one was hurt.
