Whatcom man in U-Haul reportedly rams 2 sheriff’s patrol cars and leads 4-hour manhunt
A man in a U-Haul truck that had been reported stolen reportedly rammed two Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office vehicles then led area law enforcement on a four-hour manhunt in eastern portions of the county Wednesday morning.
The man has been identified as 34-year-old Edward Sturgeon of Maple Falls, according to an email to The Bellingham Herald from sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater.
After he was arrested, Sturgeon was transported to St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham to be treated for hypothermia, Slater reported, while the two deputies in the patrol vehicles that were rammed also were taken to the emergency department for evaluation and released.
Sturgeon was booked into Whatcom County Jail Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree malicious mischief, and one count each of felony eluding a police vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.
At approximately 7:30 Nov. 18, a Nooksack Tribal Police officer spotted a 20-foot U-Haul that had been reported stolen near the 4600 block of the Mount Baker Highway near Deming, according to Slater.
Deputies initiated a high-risk stop of the truck, but the driver, later identified as Sturgeon, put it in reverse, ramming and disabling one of the patrol vehicles, Slater reported.
A second deputy pursued the U-Haul up a logging road, where Sturgeon rammed that patrol vehicle, disabled it and then continued up the mountain before abandoning the U-Haul and running away, according to Slater.
Whatcom deputies were joined by agents and a helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Sumas and Ferndale police officers and K9 teams from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Marysville Police Department in a track of Sturgeon that lasted approximately four hours, Slater reported. He was located and arrested at approximately 11:50 a.m. and taken to the hospital.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 4:27 PM.
