(Update 8:17-a.m. – Suspect in Custody)

Authorities in Cass County spent about 30-minutes this (Wednesday) morning, searching for a man who took off during a traffic stop on Interstate 80. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Craig Zenor attempted to pull over a 1999 Chrysler Concorde for speeding on I-80 eastbound at the 50-mile marker at around 7:42-a.m., when the driver took off for reasons unknown. The vehicle left the Interstate to the south at the Marne exit and crashed into the ditch. The driver, a man who was initially reported to be from Sioux City, took off on foot. After he followed the fence line and laid down on the ground, the Trooper lost sight of the subject.

Law enforcement, including k9 units converged on the scene trying to find the man, who was described as being a white male with tattoos on his arms. The Trooper who initiated the traffic stop reported the subject grabbed something from a dashboard compartment when he took off running.

A State Patrol aircraft saw the man crawling on his hands and knees. He was finally apprehended near a tree along the fence line south of I-80, at around 8:17-a.m. Dispatch reports indicated the suspect, who was transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs, will initially be charged with felony eluding, and driving under the influence. Hell also be cited for traffic offenses. A records search indicated the vehicle was not registered to the suspect, and appeared to have been stolen. Several items inside the car were set to be inventoried and checked to see if they were reported stolen, as well.