Manhunt ends with arrest

MOSES LAKE — The pursuit of a stolen truck led to a Wednesday morning manhunt where a Moses Lake man was arrested.

Anthony Alvarado, 31, Moses Lake, was arrested for possession of stolen property in the first degree after an hour and 15 minute search for the man around Moses Lake.

The incident began around 10 a.m. when a man called 9-1-1 because he had driven past his stolen 1995 Nissan truck while Alvarado was allegedly driving it on Potato Hill Road, said Grant County Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin.

“This morning he was driving down the road and passed it,” he said.

The stolen truck was heading toward the sand dunes and the reporting party followed, while on the phone with emergency dispatch.

The reporting party thought the suspect would ditch the truck once he entered the sand dunes but instead, the suspect drove through the park, Conklin said.

Alvarado reportedly exited the sand dunes and came out on Sand Dunes Road near Camas Place. A Moses Lake police officer was waiting on Lupine Drive and the suspect traveled toward the officer.

A pursuit ensued and the suspect reportedly exited the truck and fled on foot toward the lake.

Two Moses Lake police officers and a sheriff’s deputy used a row boat to patrol the lake in search of the man while another deputy was on a personal watercraft and a retired deputy volunteered the use of a helicopter to help search for the suspect, Conklin said.

Alvarado was reportedly found hiding in some weeds along the lake shore near Laguna Drive, where he was taken into custody.

The stolen truck was recovered, he said.