Moses Lake man jailed after long high-speed pursuit

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man is in custody after a high-speed chase Friday morning, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. 

Casey Orion Kolb, 31, was arrested and booked into Grant County Jail on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer and attempting to elude a police vehicle, according to the statement. Kolb was still lodged at the jail Sunday afternoon. 

Around 5:30 a.m., a sheriff’s sergeant on routine patrol was traveling on state Route 17 just north of Moses Lake, according to the statement. Near McConihe Road NE, the sergeant saw a 2000 Ford F-150 pickup facing south on the northbound shoulder, sticking partway into the northbound lane with two people inside. 

The sergeant stopped to check on the vehicle, in case an accident or a DUI had occurred, according to the statement. The driver, later identified as Kolb, suddenly accelerated into the roadway, crossed into oncoming lanes of traffic, and headed south on SR 17. The sergeant, believing Kolb was impaired, activated his emergency lights and pursued Kolb when he failed to stop. 

A pursuit followed that covered several miles of county, city, and state roads in the Moses Lake area, the GCSO wrote. During the pursuit,  Kolb reportedly frequently reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour; repeatedly swerved into oncoming lanes of traffic; avoided spike strips on two separate occasions; crashed at least once, then recovered and continued fleeing.

Kolb eventually traveled west on Baseline Road East from SR 17, then south on Potato Hill Road, and entered the Moses Lake Sand Dunes, according to the statement. Deputies lost sight of the pickup after it went off-road, and Moses Lake Police launched a drone to help find the pickup and its occupants while deputies followed the pickup’s tire tracks on foot. Along the way, they found the passenger, who was walking back toward the roadway. That person was later released. 

After tracking tire marks and footprints for about three miles through the sand dunes, a 911 caller reported a suspicious person near the 5600 block of Road J.2 Southeast just south of the dunes, according to the statement. Deputies went to the area and found Kolb hiding inside a shop. Kolb was taken into custody without further incident. 

Kolb was previously arrested in December 2016 for fourth-degree assault, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives, and in February 2018 for third-degree malicious mischief – domestic violence and interfering with reporting of domestic violence. He was arrested in April 2018 for fourth-degree assault – domestic violence and again the same month for second-degree possession of stolen property, Columbia Basin Herald archives show.