Appleton woman arrested in Fond du Lac County after I-41 pursuit reaches speeds of 120 mph
FOND DU LAC – An early morning police pursuit ended in the arrest of a 25-year-old Appleton woman in Fond du Lac County on March 13.
According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office, Wisconsin State Patrol reported to the communications center around 3:30 a.m. Thursday that troopers were in pursuit of a vehicle southbound on Interstate 41 entering Winnebago County, with the suspect driving more than 100 miles per hour. That pursuit was terminated, but the vehicle continued south on the highway.
Additional reports indicated the vehicle was still speeding on the highway and weaving in both lanes without being pursued by law enforcement, and the driver may be impaired.
More news: Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office to file charges on suspect that led 23-mile chase
Deputies set up on the highway near the Fond du Lac and Winnebago County line, and one deputy found the suspect vehicle traveling at 110 mph and weaving in both lanes. The deputy followed with emergency lights and sirens, which the suspect ignored. As she continued, she reached speeds of 120 mph.
The involved law enforcement agencies deployed Stop Stick tire deflation devices on the highway, including deputies at Townline Road and a trooper farther south. The suspect hit both and eventually stopped near County OO with three tires deflated.
The woman was taken into custody without further incident. She was arrested on suspicion of felony fleeing and eluding and suspicion of operating while impaired, and she is being held at Fond du Lac County Jail.
The pursuit lasted about 6.6 miles while in Fond du Lac County, and no injuries were reported as a result.
More news: Wild Rose man leads Fond du Lac County deputies on 18-mile pursuit, ending in his arrest
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Appleton woman arrested after Fond du Lac police chase reaches 120 mph

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Ex-police chief and convicted killer who escaped from an Arkansas jail has been captured
A former police chief and convicted killer known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the prison he escaped from following a massive, nearly two-weeks-long manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday. Grant Hardin's identity was confirmed through fingerprinting, the Izard County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. Eventually, his notoriety led to a TV documentary, 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a fatal shooting. In order to escape, he had impersonated a corrections officer 'in dress and manner,' according to a court document. A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate, allowing him to walk out of the facility. Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the state prison system, said that someone should have checked Hardin's identity before he was allowed to leave, describing the lack of verification as a 'lapse' that's being investigated. Searchers had been using bloodhounds, officers on horseback, drones and helicopters in their hunt for Hardin since he escaped on May 25. An elite and highly trained U.S. Border Patrol team had recently joined the search, federal authorities announced this week. The Border Patrol Tactical Team known as BORTAC provided 'advanced search capabilities and operational support' in the hunt for Hardin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Its members are experienced in navigating complex terrain, the agency said. The Ozark Mountains region is known for its rocky and rugged landscape, thick forests and an extensive cave network. Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to first-degree murder for the killing of James Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hardin's DNA was also matched to the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years for that crime. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOWa
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Escaped ex-police chief recaptured 1.5 miles from his Arkansas prison: Authorities
The former Arkansas police chief who escaped prison while serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape has been recaptured after nearly two weeks on the run, authorities said. Grant Hardin was captured by law enforcement officials Friday afternoon, approximately 1.5 miles west of the northern Arkansas prison he had escaped, according to the Izard County Sheriff's Office. His identity was confirmed by fingerprint analysis, the sheriff's office said. Hardin, 56, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit in Izard County on May 25 after donning a uniform and impersonating a corrections officer and being allowed to walk through a sally port pulling a cart. Arkansas law enforcement officers and the U.S. Border Patrol located Hardin near Moccasin Creek in Izard County and he was taken into custody shortly after 3 p.m. local time Friday, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. "Tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent in the area, and Hardin was apprehended a short time later," the department said in a press release. Arkansas' secretary of corrections, Lindsay Wallace, thanked those who helped "bring this search to a peaceful conclusion." MORE: 'Evil man': Search continues for ex-police chief who escaped Arkansas prison Hardin, the former police chief of Gateway, Arkansas, pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton, according to The Associated Press. He was also convicted of the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, Arkansas, a crime highlighted in the 2023 television documentary "Devil in the Ozarks." During the search, officials deployed helicopters, drones and K9 officers. A U.S. Border Patrol tactical unit from Texas, known as BORTAC, had also been deployed to Arkansas to assist in the manhunt, officials said. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed gratitude for local, state and federal law enforcement -- and especially thanked the Trump administration for sending a Border Patrol team "that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin.' "Thanks to the great work of local, state and federal law enforcement Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief and I can confirm that violent criminal Grant Hardin is back in custody,' she said in a statement. MORE: US Border Patrol tactical unit deployed to help manhunt for escaped Arkansas inmate The FBI and U.S. Marshals offered a combined $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Arkansas officials urged residents of the surrounding Izard County to stay vigilant and lock the doors of their homes and vehicles following his escape. "I am very scared that this guy is going to hurt or kill somebody before this is over with," Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long told ABC News amid the manhunt. Nathan Smith, the former Benton County prosecutor who helped put Hardin behind bars, told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS the escaped inmate is "a sociopath."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Arkansas police chief, serving time for murder and rape, escapes prison
A former police chief in Arkansas sentenced to prison for rape and first-degree murder remains on the run after escaping a state facility in a disguise, a department of corrections spokesperson confirmed on May 26. Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, at 2:55 p.m. local time on May 25 wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement," according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. The former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief was imprisoned in 2017. "We've had a lot of rain and it's hampered the search efforts for most of the day," Rand Champion, an Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson, told USA TODAY. "But it looks like the rain should subside, and hopefully, that will help." Champion said Hardin was only gone for about 20 minutes before an officer noticed he was missing. Hardin was sentenced in Benton County in 2017 to 30 years in prison for murder, according to his corrections department profile. He was then sentenced in 2019 to 25 years for rape. Sheriff Brandon Long of Stone County, which borders Calico Rock, said in a Facebook post that Hardin escaped through a secure entryway wearing a fake Department of Corrections uniform. A photo shared by the sheriff's office shows Hardin pushing a cart loaded with materials. Authorities consider Hardin "extremely dangerous." Officials are also investigating the events that led to Hardin's escape. The Arkansas Department of Corrections, Arkansas State Police, and local police are working to find Hardin, officials said. Police K-9 units are also searching for Hardin, Champion said. Hardin was serving decades-long sentences at the North Central Unit facility near the Missouri border in Calico Rock, Arkansas. The facility is located about 130 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas, and can hold around 800 prisoners, according to the Department of Corrections. The facility is also about 130 miles east of the tiny Arkansas town of Gateway, where Hardin served as police chief, and near his last known address in Garfield, Arkansas, according to the corrections department. "He does have a law enforcement background," Champion said, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. "Anytime something like this exists, we consider it a threat to the community." Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to shooting and killing James Appleton, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. Appleton was killed in his truck in February of that year. His brother-in-law told police that he was on the phone with Appleton when a car sped down the road and stopped next to Appleton's. A witness said he saw a white sedan next to Appleton's truck, heard a boom, and saw the sedan leave. The witness found Appleton shot in the head in the truck, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. Police in Rogers, Arkansas, another town in Benton County, used DNA evidence in 2018 to link Hardin to the 1997 rape of a school teacher, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. The woman told police a man raped her when she had left her classroom for the restroom. He was disguised with a knit stocking and sunglasses and carried a pistol, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. Hardin bounced around police departments before becoming the top cop in Gateway, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV and the Associated Press. He was with the Fayetteville Police Department from Aug. 6, 1990, to May 22, 1991, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. The department's chief of police then said he terminated Hardin because his efforts "fall short of the average probationary officer" and that he had a "tendency to not accept constructive criticism along with indecisiveness under stressful situations." A spell at the Eureka Springs Police Department, from April 1993 to October 1996, was marred by excessive uses of force and poor decisions on the job, the department's former police chief said, according to 40/29. Hardin was the chief of police for Gateway for about four months at the start of 2016, according to the Associated Press. The man he killed, Appleton, was the brother-in-law of the town's mayor. Hardin's flight is just the latest high-profile escape in the nation. In New Orleans, 10 inmates – including some charged with murder – broke out of an Orleans Parish jail earlier in May. Louisiana State Police announced the arrests of three more inmates in the brazen prison escape. Authorities said two escapees, Derrick Groves, 27, and Antoine Massey, 32, remain at large. Groves, 27, was convicted of two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder in October in connection with a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018, according to a statement from the district attorney's office. Massey was charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation and theft of a motor vehicle, according to Orleans Parish records. Authorities initially suspected that other individuals helped with their escape from the prison. At least seven people have been arrested and charged with helping the inmates, including a fellow inmate accused of collaborating with the escapees. 'Fear of retribution' in New Orleans: Mass jail escape brings a big uneasy "As I promised when we initiated our investigation, we will hold absolutely everyone who contributed any role to the prison break in New Orleans accountable," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci (This story was updated to add new information and video.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Arkansas police chief sentenced for murder escapes prison