The Knox County Sheriff’s Office used a helicopter to help the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department search for a suspect in the woods on the north side of Black Oak Ridge on the north side of Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect was captured just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, at Cedar Hill Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 7:30 p.m.

A 19-year-old man being questioned about a car stolen from Nashville fled from police as they tried to arrest him in Oak Ridge late Tuesday morning, and more than 30 officers and deputies spent more than two hours searching for him by foot, car, and helicopter. The Oak Ridge Preschool was briefly locked down during the search, and the suspect, Elijah McDowell, 19, was tracked for more than four miles on foot before being captured at Cedar Hill Park near Michigan Avenue and Outer Drive in north-central Oak Ridge.

One Oak Ridge Police Department officer sustained non-life threatening injuries while chasing McDowell into the park.

Elijah Malik McDowell

McDowell’s charges include three counts of property theft, with one between $10,000 and $59,999; assault; resisting arrest; evading arrest; and probation violation, according to Anderson County Sheriff’s Department jail records. His address lists him as a resident of Dandridge.

Before McDowell was caught, Oak Ridge Police Department officers and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies swarmed roads on the north side of Oak Ridge and down into Marlow while searching for the suspect. They combed the roads and woods along Outer Drive, Key Springs Road, Bacon Springs Road, and Oliver Springs Highway, among other streets. A Knox County Sheriff’s Office Airwatch helicopter flew low circles over the woods on the north side of Black Oak Ridge, which is on the north side of Oak Ridge.

The pursuit started after Oak Ridge officers were dispatched to a home at 102 Marion Road at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday. They were trying to locate a black 2008 Dodge Charger reported stolen from Nashville, a press release said. The vehicle was being tracked remotely by the Metropolitan Nashville Metropolitan Police Department. [Read more…]