COLUMBUS, Ind. — A suspect in a stolen vehicle was rescued by Columbus police from the Flatrock River on Wednesday evening.
About 11:50 p.m., police observed a stolen vehicle driven by Jerry Hounshell, 36, of Columbus, near 11th and Jackson Streets. When they attempted to stop Hounshell he accelerated onto Tellman Road. Hounshell drove to a wooded area, stopped, and fled on foot. Canine officers and police began to track the suspect in the dark, wooded area. As police got closer to the Flatrock River they could hear Hounshell yelling for help. Police found the suspect clinging to a log in the middle of the river.
The Bartholomew County Water Rescue Team used an airboat to pull Hounshell from the river. He was treated for hypothermia, and then transported to the Bartholomew County jail and charged with auto theft, resisting law enforcement in a vehicle and resisting law enforcement on foot.
