Suspect Chased for 15 Miles Before Deputies Nab Him Near Ephrata

Grant County Sheriff's Deputies were busy Tuesday afternoon, chasing a suspect for miles before finally cornering and capturing him.

   A man was reported passed out behind the wheel of a car

Around 11 AM Tuesday, A GCSO Deputy found 39-year-old Christopher E. Smith of Ephrata passed out in the car, parked right near the entrance to the Ephrata Gun Range.  He was seen with drug paraphernalia in his hands.

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But when the Deputy woke him up, he sped away from the scene, eventually leading multiple Deputies on a 15-mile chase on various county roads near town.

Ephrata Police and the GCSO were finally able to corral Smith into turning onto what was a dead-end canal maintenance road near Road 5-Northwest and Road G-Northwest.

He was taken into custody without incident, and is facing the following charges, according to the GCSO: 

"...investigation of failure to stop or obey a police officer, driving under the influence, failure to stop at a stop sign, and attempting to elude police."

The GCSO has not released what kind of drugs were involved in the incident.