Car Thieves Dump Stolen Pickup During Pursuit By Okmulgee Deputy

Some car thieves dumped a stolen pickup from a wrecker truck and spotlighted a pursuing deputy to escape capture in Okmulgee County. The Sheriff's Office believes it's just the latest in a series of vehicle thefts troubling the area.

Deputy Blake Frost tracked the suspected car thieves to Bramble Street in Schulter early Friday morning, March 22.

They were making off with a stolen truck - towing it behind an unmarked, one-ton dually pickup equipped with a boom pole and wheel lift, according to a release by the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office. The wrecker was red and white with a tag in the left upper window.

Frost tried to stop the wrecker, and when it fled, pursued it through Okmulgee and McIntosh counties.

"This pursuit was especially dangerous due to the stolen vehicle being dumped from the wrecker during the pursuit," said Sheriff Eddy Rice in a news release.

The front seat passenger used a spotlight in attempts to blind the deputy as they drove in excess of 100 mph then threw a gas can at Frost while on Highway 266.

Frost lost sight of the wrecker and eventually canceled the pursuit.

Sheriff Rice said his department is working with McIntosh County and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to solve a string of car thefts in the area.

"We believe several of our vehicle thefts are connected to a group of thieves from McIntosh County," he said.

If you have any information that could help Okmulgee County investigators solve these crimes, call Chief Deputy Smokey Patchin at 918-756-4311.