UPDATE: Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker confirmed that as of 9 p.m. Thursday the suspect in question in the following story was still on the loose.

 

ORIGINAL: Bridgeport Police along with several other law enforcement agencies were looking for the rider of a motorcycle that led law enforcement on a high speed chase through downtown Bridgeport before it ended at Route 50’s intersection with Route 76, said Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker.

 

According to Walker, police are looking for a white male, wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans who may have minor injuries. There were no other description details available at this time, Walker said.

 

The incident took place shortly after 2 p.m. after Walker said there were calls about an individual riding up and down U.S. Route 50 (Main Street) in an erratic manner. Eventually, Walker said the suspect turned into Classic Car Stereo, which is situated off of U.S. Route 50 east and just past McDonald’s.

 

“Officer (G.T.) Collins approached him at that time and he bolted,” said Walker. “At that point, he led us on a high speed chase.”

 

An eyewitness who had spotted the bike earlier in the Twin Oaks section said he saw the bike weaving through traffic near the Bridgeport Fire Department heading east. He said cars were pulling over as the bike plowed through the downtown.

 

Bridgeport Police were eventually joined by West Virginia State Police and the Harrison County Sherriff’s department in the chase. The bike came to rest underneath a guardrail right at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Route 76. A State Trooper believes the suspect was able to lay the bike down without the possibility of serious injury based on the condition of the bike and where it went off the road, but couldn’t say that was a 100 percent certainty.

 

The same eyewitness that saw the bike in town was also among the first on the scene where the bike crashed. Although he didn’t see the bike go down, he did believe he saw the suspect going through the wooded area. Eventually police were searching the area of woods near the intersection below the off-road picnic shelter.

 

By 3 p.m., Clarksburg Police were also assisting on the scene. Detective Gary Weaver said Clarksburg officials had brought their K-9 unit to assist. Although Walker couldn’t confirm, several females came to the scene, one of whom was yelling an individual’s name into the wooded area being searched.

 

If anyone notices anything suspicious in that area or has information, they are asked to call 911. More details when they become available will be posted on Connect-Bridgeport.  

 

Editor's Note: Top photo show a West Virginia State Trooper observing where the motorcycle in question came to rest, while Bridgeport Detective Gary Weaver is shown below helping coordinate the search in the wooded area between the intersection of Route 50 and Route 76.