Benton Deputies Nab Suspect Who Jumped in Yakima River

One suspect told Deputies he eluded capture by hiding in seaweed, the other tried to run down a ravine.

 2 Suspects Keep Benton County Deputies busy

The night shift at the Benton County Sheriff's Office had 2 bizarre cases Sunday night. In the first one, a wanted suspect ripped off his outer clothing and jumped into the Yakima River near Benton City.  A Pascop K-9 and other searchers were not able to locate him, but later the next day he was captured after an extended search.  He reportedly told Deputies he eluded overnight capture by hiding in seaweed in the water.

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Then later Sunday evening, a suspect near Finley tried to get away from Officers by running down a ravine, but it failed. Despite his efforts, he was located and captured near an irrigation canal.

Deputies said they had to dodge a few rattlesnakes and some scorpions (yes, we have smaller ones here) in order to locate the man, who was arrested without incident.  According to the BCSO, when the Finley-area suspect realized he couldn't elude the drone (with its nighttime infrared tracking) he gave up.