Police looking for a suspect in a car theft case closed a portion of Stainback Highway this morning.
The incident began shortly after midnight when police tried to pull over a pickup truck in the Pana`ewa area on Highway 11.
When police located the vehicle on an unpaved road off Stainback, the driver attempted to drive off but the truck became stuck in the brush. The driver then ran into the forest.
As officers were inspecting the vehicle, gunshots were heard from the area toward which the suspect had fled.
Patrol officers secured the area and this morning conducted a search with the assistance of the department’s Special Response Team. The driver was not found.
Stainback Highway was reopened at 1 p.m.
The vehicle was a black Toyota Tacoma that had been reported stolen from Hilo in July.
Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect or his whereabouts is asked to call police at 935-3311.
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