Stolen Car Chase In Southern Minnesota Ends In Swamp Fire, Suspect Arrested

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 24-year-old man is in custody Monday after allegedly stealing a car in southern Minnesota and leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in a vehicle fire, which spread to the surrounding swampland.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office says the suspect, a Rochester man, was not hurt in the fire; nor were any of the firefighters who responded to knock down the flames in the swampland near Janesville. The suspect is in custody. WCCO-TV does not typically name suspects until they are formally charged.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded shortly after 2 p.m. to a property just west of Janesville on Highway 14. A person reported seeing a Chevrolet Tahoe on his property driving behind a shed.

When a deputy arrived, the Tahoe fled, speeding through harvested corn fields. The deputy read the license plate and found that the vehicle was stolen from Jordan, a city about 50 miles north. Police chased the Tahoe onto eastbound Highway 14 to Janesville, where the SUV turned turned north on Waseca County Road 18.

At times, speeds in the chase reached about 100 mph. The sheriff's office noted that there was minimal traffic in the area at the time of the chase.

The chase ended after the Tahoe again drove through harvested corn fields and became stuck in a swamp. Deputies arrested the driver, who was the only person in the vehicle.

Not long after, the vehicle started on fire, and the flames spread through the swamp land. Several fire departments responded to stop the fire from spreading.