Sheriff: Indiana woman fled, made bomb threat in Kalkaska County

Sheri McWhirter, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·1 min read

Apr. 12—KALKASKA — Authorities said an Indiana woman on Monday led police on a chase through part of Kalkaska County before driving into a muddy field, getting stuck and threatening police that there was a bomb in the truck; eventually she was arrested and a bomb squad cleared the scene.

Kalkaska County Sheriff Pat Whiteford said deputies responded to a suspicious red pickup around 10 a.m. in the Lodi area in Kalkaska Township. That's when the motorist fled in the vehicle on M-66 North and then onto M-72 East for about two more miles before leaving the roadway and going into an open field, he said.

The truck continued south for a quarter-mile, went over an embankment and got stuck in a mud pit. The driver then threatened there was a bomb in the truck, so deputies took up a perimeter behind the embankment, Whiteford said.

Authorities said the woman seemed to fall in and out of consciousness as the vehicle began to fill with smoke. She eventually put her hands out the window and deputies pulled her from the truck and arrested her, the sheriff said.

The woman, a 31-year-old and sole truck occupant, was treated by emergency medical responders before authorities took her to Kalkaska County Jail to be booked on charges of fleeing and eluding police, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Michigan State Police bomb squad ensured there were no explosive devices in the vehicle, before authorities towed it out of the field and confiscated it for evidence.

Whiteford said the truck was reported stolen out of Wayland in Allegan County.

An arraignment date has not yet been set with Kalkaska County's 87th District Court, officials said.