The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

On January 5, the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Office arrested two people who ended up crashing a stolen car on SR4 after a deputy pursued them for a short distance.

Deputy Mark Hake clocked a silver sedan driving 77 mph eastbound on SR4 at milepost 41. When he caught up to the vehicle, the driver accelerated to speeds over 90 mph and eventually crashed near milepost 45.

The male passenger was taken into custody, but the female driver ran up the hillside and hid until a Cowlitz K-9 deputy responded to the scene with a search dog. After a track up the hillside resulted in finding the driver hiding in the bushes, Deputy Hake took the female into custody.

Courtesy of the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department

Wahkiakum County Deputy Sheriff Mark Hake leads a woman charged with attempting to elude police to a patrol car after a search found her hiding in brush near the crashed car.

No one was injured in the incident.

Officers learned that the female suspect had escaped from the Department of Corrections custody stemming from a murder conviction. Deputies also discovered several stolen credit cards in the female's possession that she had used earlier that day for purchases at a local gas station.

The female passenger pleaded guilty to Possession of Stolen Vehicle, Identity Theft, and Attempted Felony Eluding and received 720 days from Wahkiakum Superior Court, Sheriff Mark Howie said. She also had her sentence reinstated for the Murder II charge, adding another 648 days, bringing the total to 3.75 years in prison.

"The theft of access device was an initial charge but changed to the I.D. Theft once we discovered video showing she used the stolen credit card," Howie said.

The male passenger is being held on bail for possession of heroin.