Car stolen in front of owner, leads to pursuit, crash

Gold Hill, Ore. —  A man has been reunited with his car, after it was stolen in front of him on Saturday morning.

Only NBC5 News spoke with owner Keats Miller, who watched as a stranger got inside his car and took off.

“Really? Steal cars? That’s what people do,” Miller said. “I leave the keys in it on occasion, and the guys screw with me, they’ll get in my jeep, and move it to a different parking spot, well I got you this time, I’m going to watch where you park it.”

Miller said what he thought was a prank turned out to be a serious situation. He called 911, and deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police responded.

Sergeant Scott Waldon was in the area when the call came out.

“I was coming down Blackwell road, southbound, and I observed the vehicle coming northbound,” Sergeant Waldon said.

After Waldon attempted to stop the car, a pursuit began. The car led officers to a field off of Maple lane.

“He crashed the jeep and took off running, K9 was called out, but we weren’t able to locate the suspect.”

After a 45 minute search for the suspect, Miller was reunited with his jeep. Despite the wild ride and stressful situation, Miller has kept a sense of humor about it.

“The guy has good taste, it’s an awesome jeep,” Miller said. “I think I’m not leaving the keys in my ignition anymore.”

The suspect is still outstanding. If you have any information, call police.

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