Malheur County, Ore.- A man accused of stealing a car was arrested Wednesday after getting stuck in a badger hole.
Oregon State Police say it all started when a trooper tried to pull over the driver of a stolen car in Ontario Wednesday morning. The driver and his passenger took off and police followed, but the chase was called off a short time later because it became too dangerous.
Several hours later, 35-year-old Jerry Boatman was found walking on BLM land and arrested on suspicion of escape and a parole violation. Police started looking for the second suspect, using officers on the ground and in the air. An aircraft spotted the stolen car in a ravine, along with tracks leading away from it and a dog. Officers followed the tracks and saw the dog run into a large badger hole. After getting the dog out, officers could hear a man screaming for help from inside.
When officers went further into the hole, they found 22-year-old Gregory Morrow stuck approximately eight feed underground. He was feet first in the hold, losing feeling in his arm and couldn’t move.
Police immediately began digging to remove Morrow from the hold. After about an hour and a half, he was finally released, then taken into custody. After a brief visit to the hospital, Morrow was arrested on a parole violation. Additional charges relating to the stolen vehicle are pending.
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