Police shut down the Gee Creek rest area along Interstate 5 south for several hours Thursday while they searched the thick woods for one of Washington’s most wanted fugitives.
A black Saturn believed to be associated with Derral Kenneth Mosby, 36, of Mossy Rock was found in the parking lot of the Milepost 12 rest area south of Ridgefield, and police tracked his cellphone to the area, according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn.
It all started when Mosby’s dad called 911 at 2:22 p.m. He reported that his son had called him and told him he was at the rest area with a gunshot wound in his leg.
After searching the rest area for about an hour, police weren’t able to find any trace of Mosby, who appeared on the television show Washington’s Most Wanted. Neither of the two vehicles he was associated with, a green Chevrolet Tahoe and a maroon Dodge pickup, were found.
With no injured person and no other reports of gun shots in the area, police cleared the scene.
Shortly after leaving, however, a Thurston County detective told the State Patrol that Mosby’s vehicles had already been found, and Mosby was now believed to be driving a black Saturn — a car in the parking lot of the Gee Creek rest area. Police returned to rest area, clearing out every vehicle except for a disabled tractor-trailer. A track on Mosby’s cellphone confirmed that he had been in the area.
Tactical teams and police dogs scoured the woods south of the rest area, while a plane searched from above. Finn said there are lots of places that Mosby could have hid, including outbuildings on surrounding private properties.
The search ended around 7 p.m. after it came up empty. There wasn’t any visible evidence of injury inside the Saturn, which was impounded, Finn said.
Finn said some troopers were expected to stay in the area Thursday night.
Mosby is described as 6 feet 8 inches tall and 220 pounds with blue eyes, brown hair and a fish hook tattoo on his neck. He has multiple felony warrants out of Lewis County for robbery and drug possession, Finn said. According to “Washington’s Most Wanted,” he’s been known to hang out in Ridgefield.
Anyone who sees Mosby should not approach him, and call 911 with his description and location. He’s believed to be armed and dangerous.
