Just after 8:00am Wednesday morning, Curry County Dispatch was notified that the California Highway Patrol had been in pursuit of a vehicle that had been doing 90 MPH in California and that they had pursued the vehicle into Harbor and then terminated the pursuit before entering the city of Brookings. Reports came in that the vehicle continued at a high rate of speed through the city of Brookings and then continued north on Highway 101.
Curry County Sheriff’s Deputies responded along with the Oregon State Police. An Oregon State Trooper located the vehicle, a tan 1996 Ford Explorer, speeding north bound near House Rock Road. A witness called in and advised the driver of the speeding vehicle stopped and ran into the brush on the ocean side of the highway.
A K-9 was requested from the Brookings Police Department while Deputies and Troopers set up a perimeter in the area. The K-9 was deployed and started searching the area along the Oregon Coast Trail. Meanwhile, Sheriff’s Deputy Maia Mello found the suspect hiding with his dog in a wooded gulley in House Rock Creek and summoned additional Deputies and Troopers to the location. Forty year old Dalen Ragan from Tillamook Oregon was taken into custody by Oregon State Troopers. Ragan was suffering from minor injuries from his run through the brush. Due to the location and terrain, a call was placed to the U.S. Coast Guard for possible assistance with an airlift out of the area by a helicopter. Due to the inclement weather, the Coast Guard was not able to assist.
Curry County Sheriff Search and Rescue responded and assisted law enforcement in getting Ragan back to the Highway where he was then transported by Cal Ore Life Flight to Curry General Hospital. Ragan was issued several citations by the Oregon State Police and CHP was notified of the arrest. Ragan’s dog that was with him was later taken the animal shelter.
It is unknown why Ragan was trying to flee from CHP other than information provided from Tillamook that Ragan was reported missing a few days earlier.
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