Police chased a rural theft suspect through the bush and down the tracks, finally catching up with him deep in the woods east of town.
A stolen ATV was recovered, but another suspect is believed to be involved and a second ATV is still missing.
The Thursday chase was broken up into two parts, starting at about 5 a.m. A pair of calls to police indicated the ATV theft and two suspicious people were all in the same area and time frame - the Foreman Road/Graves Road vicinity about 15 minutes east of the city core.
Patrols came up with no sign of the suspects, but a second round of calls came in to police at about 9 p.m., again from the same area and roughly the same characteristics. This time, someone caught their attention.
"Police spotted an adult male, wearing all black and apparently soaking wet. The male immediately fled at the sight of police," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass.
Police service dog Azar was called to the scene to join the search in the dense underbrush and down the railroad tracks. For about three kilometres the track meandered through the undergrowth, but the gap was closed.
"The suspect picked up a stick and disobeyed the commands of the officer," said Douglass. "He continued to show determination to not get caught, even with the police practically right on top of him. He resisted arrest significantly."
Azar intervened to finally bring the altercation to a close. The suspect received dog bites and was taken to hospital for treatment of wounds police called "minor."
A wider search of the area did not turn up the second suspect or the other missing quad. Still missing is a blue Quest four-wheel ATV.
It is possible that the two suspects got separated when police patrolled the area the first time, Douglass said.
"We think [the wet suspect in custody] went into the river when we were patrolling through after the 5 a.m. calls, that he hid out, and came out when he thought the coast was clear. As soon as he saw police he immediately fled into the bush and the officers saw this."
Using the river was a dangerous choice, said Douglass, relieved that the 19-year-old suspect was not seriously harmed by the fierce Fraser River flows.
Douglass expressed gratitude also to the vigilant public who called in their suspicions, and to CN Rail for taking extraordinary measures to help police in their pursuit along the tracks.
"It's not just this case, they are consistently helpful to us," Douglass said. "They have a lot of property and get a lot of contact with the police for various incidents, so their continued co-operation when we need help is really appreciated. We did not ask them for any help in this incident, but they spontaneously provided transportation along the tracks and they held a train for us when we told them what was going on in the area. It helped us bring a suspect into custody without the worry of passing trains."
The suspect was well known to police. He faces charges of theft over $5,000 and resisting arrest. His next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 12.
