The witness followed the suspects — later identified as Beau Allen Jay, 42, of Bradford, and Randy Peter, 50, of Piqua — and relayed a description and location information to the sheriff’s office before losing sight of the suspects’ vehicle.
The suspects dumped the trailer and stolen generator in the area of Hogpath Road and state Route 49, and a deputy later spotted the suspects’ vehicle on Arcanum Bears Mill Road near Spidel Road. The vehicle took off at high speed and the deputy eventually lost sight of it, according to the sheriff’s office.
As deputies continued to search for the vehicle, the witness saw it parked behind a barn in the 6200 block of Hartzell Road, where deputies found it abandoned.
A K-9 team of Oakley and his handler deputy Jamie Joseph were called to track Jay and Peter. The track led deputies through a thickly wooded area under high water from Greenville Creek floodwaters where the men had submerged themselves in high water for an extended period in an apparent attempt to hide from deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies requested swift-water rescue crews from Gettysburg, Bradford and Covington fire departments to help bring the suspects out of the flooded area. Watercraft were used to rescue the suspects, deputies and K-9 team.
Both men were taken to Wayne Health in Greenville to be evaluated before they were booked into the Darke County Jail on suspicion of theft and two counts of criminal trespass.
Neither man was listed on Wednesday as a Darke County Jail inmate.
About the Author
