COLUMBUS, Ind. -- A man who Columbus police say stole an SUV had to be rescued from a river before he was arrested.
Officers say they saw a white Ford Ford Expedition shortly before midnight Wednesday near 11th and Jackson Streets that matched the description of a vehicle that was stolen earlier in the day.
The suspect took off west on Tellman Road when officers tried to stop him.
A short time later, the vehicle went off the road and stopped in a wooded area. Police say the suspect got out of the SUV and ran.
Officers used canines to help them track down Jerry W. Hounshell, 36, of Columbus. Hounshell was holding onto a log in the middle of the Flatrock River.
The Bartholomew County Water Rescue Team used an airboat to get Hounshell out of the river.
He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment of Hypothermia.
Hounshell was then taken to the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of auto theft, resisting law enforcement and resisting law enforcement on foot.
