Authorities Descend on Woodacre in Massive Search for Possibly Armed, Dangerous Car Theft Suspect

Law enforcement officers from across the North Bay descended on the tiny town of Woodacre in Marin County Friday morning in a manhunt for an car theft suspect who was described as possible armed and dangerous.

Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Boyd said a one-square-mile perimeter has been created around the area of Railroad and Elm avenues, where the suspect reportedly abandoned a car that had been reported stolen out of Windsor. Schools in Lagunitas and Nicasio have been locked down, officials said, and a Montessori school in the Woodacre area closed for the day and notified parents to not bring children to the school.

The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s or 30s who is 5-8 and approximately 160 pounds with his hair pulled back. He was last seen wearing a burgundy shirt and blue-gray sweatpants, Boyd said.

Boyd said the incident began at around 6 a.m. Friday when Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies contacted the suspect after receiving a report of a theft of a dark-colored GMC SUV our of Windsor. They tracked the car via its "Onstar" GPS device to near Petaluma. After making contact with the suspect, a Taser gun was used unsuccessfully and the suspect fled, but not before making multiple threats to deputies, Boyd said.

Sonoma Sheriff's officials tracked the suspect vehicle via Onstar to West Marin, advising Marin Sheriff's deputies at around 6:30 a.m. that the suspect at large may be armed and dangerous, Boyd said.

Sheriff's deputies in West Marin tracked the SUV as it made its way down Point Reyes-Petaluma Rd. into Point Reyes, and a Sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle near the Nicasio Reservoir, Boyd said. A short puruit ensued but the deputy eventually lost sight of the vehicle, he said.

The man drove through Point Reyes Station, Olema and Bolinas before heading back east on Fairfax-Bolinas Road into Fairfax. 

A chase ensued through the wet and foggy conditions along Sir Francis Drake Blvd., and the suspect abandoned the vehicle in Woodacre at around 7:50 a.m., fleeing into the hilly and forested area that contains many fire trails.

Two dozen law officers from the Sheriff’s offices of both Sonoma and Marin, as well as Fairfax, Central Marin Police, Novato Police and California Highway Patrol have been searching the area around Woodacre for the suspect. A fixed-wing plane from the CHP searched the area until weather conditions worsened and it was grounded, California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said.

Authorities have set up a command post this morning at Central Avenue and Park Street in Woodacre, Barclay said.

Abel Medrano, who works at the Woodacre Country Market and Deli at 175 San Geronimo Valley Road, said he hadn’t seen the police activity because he has been busy inside the market working but that several customers have told him about it. Patrons told him that there are lots of police with guns drawn, and that there was a small plane flying in the area Friday morning, Medrano said.

Barclay said the CHP was told the man might have committed another crime before the vehicle was stolen.

--Bay City News Service contibuted to this report. Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.