SEATTLE — A handcuffed woman who agreed to act as a drug informant, then leaped from a bridge into the chilly Wenatchee River, was recaptured early Thursday morning after a daylong chase.
A search with a bloodhound, personal watercraft, helicopter and dive and ground teams ended in the arrest of Sandra I. Duffy, 43. She was caught shortly after 1 a.m. at a house in Peshastin, nearly 20 miles from where she jumped, Chelan County sheriff’s Lt. Jerry Moore said.
Duffy had been arrested Tuesday on probation violation warrants and federal drug violations from Spokane, including possession of methamphetamine. Moore said she agreed to turn informant and help the Columbia River Drug Task Force buy cocaine.
After telling officers a seller had agreed to meet her Tuesday night at the Sleepy Hollow Bridge upriver from Wenatchee, she walked onto the bridge with a coat draped over her hands to hide her handcuffs.
Three uniformed officers and three undercover officers were nearby as she jumped 20 feet into the swift-flowing 48-degree water and vanished from sight.
“It turns out, that story that she was going to meet a seller was fabricated,” Moore said. “The whole time she’d been utilizing her cell phone, which was given back to her to arrange the meet, and texting folks to help her escape.”
During the ensuing search, deputies were aided by a string of callers who said they saw a blonde woman walking barefoot in handcuffs through their orchards.
One tip led to the discovery of Duffy hiding under a blanket in a house, Moore said.
Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies were trying to determined who may have helped her escape.
“We’re pretty sure she did not walk 20 miles barefoot over the pass,” Moore said. “It’s likely she had help.”
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