Two pursuits end with abandoned vehicles, no arrests
An unknown number of fugitives from two separate high-speed chases successfully evaded arrest and abandoned their vehicles in the southeast end of Lavaca County Tuesday, April 26.
Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon explained that the two pursuits occurred within hours of each other, both with indications of attempted human or drug smuggling.
Harmon said that the first pursuit ensued after a Lavaca County Sheriff ’s deputy noticed two white pickup trucks heading northbound on Highway 77 with what appeared to be illegal window tint.
The two vehicles separated when one turned onto Highway 111; the deputy followed and shortly confirmed with another officer that the truck’s license front and back license plates did not match.
The attempted traffic stop quickly turned to a chase down county roads with speeds topping 100 miles per hour, Harmon said. The sheriff ’s deputies followed the white truck for about 25 minutes down County Roads 14 and 14A until it drove off-road deep into some brush off of Private Road 1072.
Harmon said that the deputies could not follow the vehicle due to plant growth that obstructed the path until a local landowner offered to drive the officers in his utility terrain vehicle (UTV). The deputies discovered the truck crashed against a tree with nobody inside, the back seats completely removed and an empty toolbox - signs that may indicate smuggling.
The truck was later discovered to be a stolen Ford F-250 King Ranch out of Houston, according to Harmon.
“Deputies remained in the area because it’s very common when we have a bailout like this that another vehicle is going to show up and try to pick up the load and continue on with it,” said Harmon. “...Sure enough, one of the deputies encountered a white newer model truck that had been coming from the area of the other bailout.”
After discovering that the color listed on the second truck’s registration didn’t match the white paint on the vehicle, a second pursuit commenced around 8 p.m., explained Harmon. The second chase led officers in the opposite direction down Highway 111 until it veered off-road towards the Lavaca River.
When deputies eventually caught up to the vehicle, Harmon explained, it was abandoned near the river bank with the back seats removed similarly to the first truck. The second truck was discovered to be stolen out of League City.
Harmon said that deputies stayed in the area until about 1 a.m. to look for the fugitives and more vehicles. Ultimately, no arrests were made in connection to either pursuit. Homeland Security investigators began work on both incidents to learn more information.
“(From) the investigation from the two pursuits yesterday, all indications are that these were human smuggling attempts or drug smuggling attempts,” Harmon said.
“Normally, if you have a drug smuggling attempt and they crash like that, the driver will abandon the load. So, when you encounter the vehicle, it will still have the narcotics or drugs in it. But when you encounter the vehicle, and it has nothing in it, that means it was human cargo - they were hauling human cargo and they all jumped out.”
Harmon said that human and drug smuggling had been a trend with increasing frequency since early 2020. He encouraged residents to be attentive and protect their cars, homes, barns, and other possessions.
“We’re all used to living in the country - so to speak - to where we don’t lock our houses, we don’t lock our vehicles and we leave the keys in them,” said Harmon.
“Those days are long gone and over with. We can’t do that anymore; everything has to be secured at all times.”