UNDATED – In the early morning hours of Saturday, a Paoli Police officer attempted to stop a vehicle for speeding on State Road 37, near the Orange County Animal Clinic.
The driver refused to stop and fled exceeding speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. The officer discovered the vehicle had been stolen out of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Officers pursued the vehicle into Crawford county where the vehicle turned east on State Road 64. Officers then pursued the car through Milltown and into Harrison County.
The pursuit finally came to an end at Mud Lane, where the suspects fled the vehicle on foot.
The Branchville Correctional Department K9 unit was requested to the scene. The K9 team was able to locate the driver, Blake Eldridge, of Clarksville hiding in a nearby field. His passenger Megan Hypes, of Fredericksburg, was apprehended shortly after. Both were transported to the Orange County Jail.
Officers did recover a gun that was tossed from the vehicle during the pursuit.
Eldridge was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of meth, possession of a syringe, possession of marijuana, being a habitual traffic violator, and reckless driving. He is also wanted on a warrant out of Floyd County and Cincinnati Police are following up on the auto theft case.
Hype faces charges of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, possession of meth, illegal possession of a syringe and possession of marijuana.
Assisting were Branchville K9 Team, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Milltown Police Department, Marengo Police Department, Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police.
