PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A stolen vehicle suspect drowned when he tried to escape Linn County Sheriff’s deputies by jumping into the Calapooia River and attempting to swim across strong currents, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said.
Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, a 911 caller reported spotting someone driving their friend’s stolen Ford F550 near a farm on Vennell Place in Corvallis. As deputies were heading to the scene, the caller followed the stolen pickup truck into a grass field in Tangent where the suspect driver crashed into an embankment near the Calapooia River.
Police said the suspect, later confirmed to be 43-year-old Elijah Robb of Corvallis, ran from the truck and headed through thick brush and into the river where witnesses claim he swam back to the bank.
The thick brush impeded deputies’ search as they were slowed down cutting and attempting to climb over the undergrowth to reach the river bank. The Sheriff’s Office used drones and ultimately called in the water rescue team to help search for Robb, who deputies thought they saw on drone video in the water.
When officials finally reached Robb, he was dead.
Nearby, deputies discovered a second stolen vehicle and detained four people who allegedly committed multiple burglaries with Robb earlier in the day, officials said.
Jesse Michael-Corona, 20, of Albany was arrested for two counts of first-degree burglary and Angie Nisly, 37, of Albany was arrested on outstanding warrants. The Sheriff’s Office did not release arrest information for the other two people detained but said additional arrests and charges are likely.
The investigation is ongoing.
