It was a busy morning – and early afternoon – in theNorth Bend area. Saturday, July 25, 2015, the King County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of their canine unit and Guardian One helicopter, located a handcuffed suspect who had apparently stolen a deputy’s police vehicle earlier that morning near Snoqualmie.
The incident started when KCSO responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle Saturday around 8:30AM near SE 79th and Reinig Road. The suspect, 26-year old, Teddy Bell of Snoqualmie, had warrants out for his arrest and was approached by the deputy. Somehow Bell, while handcuffed, managed to get into the deputy’s KCSO SUV and make off with it.
A large manhunt then ensued. Officers and SWAT team members responded, along with Guardian One helicopter, to search for the vehicle. The suspect abandoned the SUV a few miles away near Rattlesnake Lake and then ran into the woods near The Uplands neighborhood. Luckily no weapons or equipment were taken from the vehicle.
K9 units were called in to search the woods. The manhunt lasted until around 2PM, when the K9 teams finally located Bell, still handcuffed, buried deep underneath brush, which may have been what helped him elude the helicopter search technology.
