On Sunday, July 10, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol attempted to stop a speeding vehicle on Hwy 89 in eastern Kane County, when the driver pretended to stop and then accelerated at high speeds and led the officer on a high-speed chase.
The driver, identified as Larry Edison, Kanab, pulled off Hwy 89 on a dirt road heading south towards the popular Buckskin Gulch trailhead. Edison abandoned the vehicle and escaped on foot at which point, the Public Safety Bureau was called for helicopter assistance as well as the Kane County Tactical Team.
The helicopter patrolled in a grid like pattern while the Kane County Tactical Team patrolled on foot. The ground team was able to identify a possible direction the fugitive was heading and relayed it to the helicopter team. It became obvious the escapee was very familiar with the terrain and area. Around 8:30 p.m., nearly four hours after the initial call, the fugitive was captured. The incident is still under investigation.
The Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau is new to the area, as of July 1, to help patrols in southern Utah. It is staffed with two crew pilots and one tactical flight officer.
“Edison picked the wrong place to run from a state trooper,” stated Kane County Sheriff Tracy Glover. “My SWAT team specializes in tracking armed suspects in remote areas, and with the help of the Utah DPS helicopter, they located him very quickly. It was hot that day, very hot. It’s probably good for Edison that we were able to find him quickly or the outcome might have been worse due to the elements.”
