Law enforcement officers were looking for three suspects Wednesday afternoon after an altercation in Neosho Falls led to a chase and a crash, with the vehicle’s occupants fleeing into a wooded area a few miles northwest of Iola.
The incident began a little before 2 p.m. when a fight in Neosho Falls broke out and a suspect brandished a weapon, according to Woodson County Sheriff’s Det. Jeff McCullough. The Woodson County Sheriff’s Department saw the suspects in a vehicle at a trailer home and motioned for them to exit the vehicle, but instead it drove away. During the pursuit, the vehicle attempted to turn from Utah Road south onto 1000 Road, in Allen County, when it entered a field and struck a tree. Two men and a woman fled from the vehicle into the woods.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department, Kansas Highway Patrol and Iola Police Department assisted with the search, along with all-terrain vehicles and K-9 units from KHP and Chanute.
The tag on the suspects’ vehicle had been reported stolen, but the vehicle had not, McCullough said.
As of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the suspects were still at large.
