Suspect in stolen-vehicle chase on the loose in Dickinson

• Scene

Two North Dakota State Highway Patrol vehicles sit across the street from a house at the corner of Fifth Avenue West and Fifth Street West at about 11 a.m. in Dickinson Wednesday morning. Minutes earlier, several officers surrounded the home with weapons drawn. A police chase originating in Dunn County led to the home.

Talk about it

A suspect who fled a North Dakota Highway Patrol traffic stop remained on the loose Wednesday evening and was believed to be in Dickinson. The incident led to the lockdown of Dickinson schools Wednesday afternoon as police searched for the suspect.

A pursuit started on Highway 22 north of Killdeer in Dunn County when a routine traffic stop was initiated at approximately 11:30 a.m. by a Dickinson-based North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper, according to a NDHP press release. The suspect, who has not been identified, fled in a stolen vehicle.

The pursuit was called off as the vehicle, a tan Ford pickup, entered Killdeer, but another trooper saw the vehicle south of Manning and proceeded to chase it into Dickinson after attempting a traffic stop. As he came into Dickinson, the trooper lost visual contact with the vehicle.

The 2006 F-350, which was reported stolen out of Missouri, was abandoned near the 500 block of Fifth Avenue West when the suspect got out on foot, DPD Capt. Joe Cianni said.

Officials didn’t want the suspect seeking refuge in a school, so they advised them to lock down.

Dickinson Catholic Schools and Dickinson Public Schools went on soft lockdown.

“We restricted access to the buildings and locked the front doors because of the police pursuit of the suspect,” DPS Superintendent Doug Sullivan said. “We just proceeded in an abundance of caution working with the police department to make sure that the buildings were secure so that the individual in question couldn’t get into any of our buildings.”

A soft lockdown does not restrict the students as much as it does those trying to access the schools.

“We make sure that the students stay inside,” DCS Superintendent Kelly Koppinger said Wednesday afternoon. “We’re just locking down the school and not letting outside people in without checking in first.”

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the suspect was not found, according to the NDHP release.

He is not believed to be a danger to the public, Cianni said.

Stark County Sheriff’s Office was called to assist NDHP and DPD, Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said. They weren’t notified of the chase until the individual was in city limits.

The incident is still under investigation by the NDHP.

Tags: stolen vehicle, news, dickinson, chase, schools, lockdown