Fleeing burglary suspect jumps in Puyallup River, shows up in stranger’s home

Puyallup police say they caught a burglary suspect Thursday morning who jumped into the Puyallup River while fleeing, and later was found in his underwear and boots in a stranger’s garage.

About 3:50 a.m. Thursday, police were alerted to a burglary in progress at a landscaping company in the 1100 block of Valley Avenue Northwest. As officers were setting up to contain the area, two people drove off in a pickup, said Capt. Scott Engle with the Puyallup Police Department.

Police drove after the pickup, onto Highway 512 westbound. The pickup stopped at the Puyallup River overpass, police said, both men bailed out, and officers chased the driver on foot. The driver ran to the river’s edge and jumped in, Engle said.

Several law-enforcement agencies conducted a search by air and boat. The crew in the boat found what were believed to be the man’s clothes on the river’s edge.

Meanwhile, a citizen found in his garage, a man wearing only underwear and boots and using lamps to heat and dry himself off, Engle said. Apparently unaware of what had happened, the resident gave the man clothes and drove him to a home in unincorporated Pierce County near Bonney Lake.

By then, police had received information on that address. They found the suspect — a 26-year-old Pierce County resident — at that home and arrested him on suspicion of burglary and felony eluding.

The second suspect has not been found.

One officer, who was injured during the foot chase, was treated at a hospital and released.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 6:24 AM with the headline "Fleeing burglary suspect jumps in Puyallup River, shows up in stranger’s home."