Employee kidnapped from Huber Heights auto shop; manhunt ends without arrest for truck thief – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

HUBER HEIGHTS — UPDATE at 2 p.m.:

Police have called off a manhunt without locating a man who stole a truck from a Huber Heights auto shop with an employee still in the bed of the truck, police say.

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The theft of the white Ford Ranger occurred at the TireChoice Auto Service Center in the Old Troy Pike and I-70 area around 11:15 a.m., Sgt. Brian Carr with Huber Heights Police Division.

Shortly after the truck was stolen, the employee was able to escape from the truck in the area of ​​State Route 4 and Chambersburg Road, Carr said. Someone had followed the stolen van down the highway as it left the auto shop.

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The suspect was described as a white male wearing a white COVID-19 mask and possibly an orange or green safety vest. Police released a photo of the suspect to News Center 7 shortly after calling off the manhunt.

Police later reported spotting the truck behind an abandoned farmhouse and began pursuing the truck through parts of Huber Heights and later into a cornfield near State Road 235 and Sandhill Road in Bath Twp. , Greene County, according to police scanner traffic.

Multiple agencies searched the area in the early afternoon, but called off the search without locating the suspect around 1:50 p.m., Carr said. Drones, K-9 officers and aircraft were used during the search.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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