Police track down auto theft suspect

Vancouver police detained a suspected auto thief Tuesday morning after a manhunt in the Countryside Woods neighborhood in east Vancouver.

Colton Erickson, 23, no address available, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree possession of stolen property, said Kim Kapp, Vancouver police spokeswoman.

The call started as a reported car prowl in progress at 9:11 a.m. at 15705 N.E. Blue Grass Drive, according to emergency dispatch logs.

A teenage boy at that home reported seeing someone breaking into his car and went to a neighbor’s home to get help, Kapp said.

An officer in the area saw an SUV making sharp turns, apparently trying to elude the police vehicle, and the driver matched the prowler suspect’s description, Kapp said. The officer came around a corner and saw the SUV empty and a man running away.

Police canvassed the Fisher’s Landing area northwest of Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard and 164th Avenue searching for the man, described as a white male with short hair wearing a tan jacket with a hoodie and jeans.

After several minutes, such a man was seen running through area yards and was detained by police.

Nearby Mill Plain Elementary School was temporarily placed in lockdown, probably because a K-9 unit was in the area, Kapp said.

Evergreen Public Schools spokeswoman Carol Fenstermacher said students were kept inside the school, but classes continued as normal.