Herald staff
TULALIP — Tribal police arrested three people and recovered two stolen vehicles Thursday after extensive searches.
The arrests occurred after a tribal officer attempted to stop the vehicles about 5:50 a.m. in the Waterworks Road area, Tulalip police chief J.A. Goss Jr. said.
When the officer moved in behind the two vehicles — a truck and a Mustang — the Mustang driver accelerated and fled, while the truck driver braked sharply and stopped, then fled into a large wooded area.
Police found the Mustang abandoned near the tribal fish hatchery. A window had been broken and the car hot-wired.
Tribal officers, assisted by Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies, began searching for the drivers. They located a suspect about 8:45 a.m. in the wooded area.
Officers later discovered a vehicle driving slowly and the man and woman occupants whistling, as if they were signaling to someone in the woods near the hatchery, Goss said. The pair had dry clothing in the back seat and admitted trying to find a person in the woods, he said.
About 1 p.m., police heard about a man in the Waterworks Road area who was hiding in the bushes each time a car passed, Goss said. Officers located and arrested the man.
The three Everett-area men, who range in age from 19 to about 30, were turned over to deputies, and the woman was released, Goss said.
The two vehicles had been stolen from Marysville, one from a private home and one from a business. The truck theft occurred about three weeks ago, and the Mustang was stolen early Thursday.
Authorities are investigating whether the suspects were part of a car-theft ring, Goss said. The Waterworks area has been used in the past to dump stolen vehicles.
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