Blood
Stolen Metro East police car abandoned with blood inside; man found dead in road
Aug
PONTOON BEACH — Authorities were saying little Thursday about a stolen police car discovered abandoned with blood inside, or a man found dead nearby on a Pontoon Beach road.
A Washington Park police squad car was stolen — with a police rifle inside — late Wednesday night. It was later found in Pontoon Beach near Highway 162 and Horseshoe Lake Road.
About the time police found the car, Pontoon Beach officers discovered a man unconscious in a street near there shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. The coroner’s office was sent to the scene to investigate a death.
Authorities have refused to comment on any of it — including who died and what the person’s connection was, if any, to the stolen car.
The Pontoon Beach police and the Madison County coroner’s office both referred a reporter to the Illinois State Police. Trooper Jayme Bufford had no information to immediately release. And Washington Park police Chief Allen Bonds was not available for comment.
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The Washington Park squad vehicle was a gray Ford Explorer. It was stolen Wednesday night with the police officer’s rifle still inside. The officer’s phone was still in the vehicle too, and police used the phone to track the car’s movements to Horseshoe Lake Road and Mockingbird Lane
A dispatcher was told that police may have fired shots at the fleeing suspect; and that the suspect might be bleeding badly.
In the area of Highway 162 and Horseshoe Lake Road, police found a man unconscious in the road and at first assumed he had been struck by a vehicle. Police also found the abandoned squad car, which had a lot of blood inside.
The police department’s rifle was still in the vehicle, police said.
A witness told officers a person left the vehicle and went into a wooded area. Authorities asked for police dogs to join the search in an area around a storage facility. Authorities have not released information about the man in the road or said if a suspect was captured.
Check back for updates.
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