Mason Co. sheriff’s K-9 helps arrest suspects who fled into Manistee Co. swamp.

Dep. Baum and K9 Cash.

Mason Co. sheriff’s K-9 helps arrest suspects who fled into Manistee Co. swamp.

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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

NORMAN TOWNSHIP (Manistee County) — Mason County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 unit was instrumental in the arrest of a fugitive who led law enforcement on a chase into a swamp last Friday. Two men were arrested Friday, Feb. 23, by Manistee County Sheriff’s Office following the incident.

On Friday, Feb. 23, deputies were conducting a traffic stop near Voelm and Steinberg roads and attempting to arrest a suspect wanted on an outstanding warrant. The suspect resisted arrest and his father, who arrived on scene in another vehicle, assaulted a deputy with a shovel. The father was arrested at the scene but the suspect fled into a wooded area after threatening police, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The suspect was eventually located in a flooded cedar swamp after multiple law enforcement agencies searched for more than three hours. He refused to comply with officers and was forcibly taken into custody by DNR Conservation Officer Ryan Andrews and Mason County Sheriff Deputy Ken Baum, and K-9 unit Cash.

The man then refused to walk out of the swamp. More officers then responded, via foot into the swamp, and assisted in bringing the suspect to an ambulance. He was treated for hypothermia at Munson Healthcare Manistee Hospital and then lodged at the Manistee County Jail.

Units responding at the scene were Manistee County Sheriff’s Office, Mason County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, Michigan State Police K-9 unit, US Forest Service law enforcement, and US Coast Guard, which provided air surveillance.