BLYN — A fugitive wanted for attempted murder, and who escaped a dragnet Thursday, led Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies on a short chase at about midnight Sunday before disappearing into the woods south of Blyn, Sheriff’s Sgt. Nick Turner said Monday.
Mario W. Hackney, 45, of Port Angeles was spotted near Blyn driving the white Nissan Quest minivan that deputies had previously found at the home of friends of Hackney in Diamond Point, Turner said.
The deputies had left the van at the residence, and were watching to see if Hackney would come back for it, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“We got a call that the van was moving,” Turner said.
Deputies intercepted the van near Blyn and chased it about 4 miles up Woods Road, where it crashed into an embankment, he said.
“[Hackney] got out of the car and ran into the woods,” Turner said.
Sheriff’s deputies brought in a tracking dog to attempt to locate Hackney in the woods, but he eluded law enforcement.
Turner said deputies on Monday were checking locations Hackney is known to frequent.
The van was towed and impounded, Turner said.
Hackney is wanted on a probable-cause arrest warrant for attempted murder that was issued by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday in connection with shots fired at a man in west Port Angeles earlier that day.
The man was not hit by the shotgun blast.
The minivan was found Sunday morning at a home in Diamond Point, an unincorporated community between Blyn and Gardiner at the eastern end of the county, far from the scene of the shooting near the William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles.
Deputies said that Hackney was at the residence on Saturday but was gone when they arrived Sunday morning.
The van was known to have been used by Hackney, deputies said.
Hackney allegedly fired a shotgun after a man arrived at a home in the 200 block of Cameron Road on Thursday morning to pick up a woman there, Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores has said.
The woman came out of the house screaming at him to leave, Moores said.
Neither the man nor the woman involved has been identified by law enforcement.
Hackney, who was described as a close friend of the woman, allegedly stepped out from behind a shed and pointed a shotgun at the man, who was standing beside the truck about 35 feet away.
The man jumped back in the truck and was attempting to back up when he saw Hackney raise the shotgun higher and point it at him.
The driver ducked and was not hit, but the blast hit the side of the pickup, which went backward down a hill, spun around and crashed into a ditch, according to law enforcement.
The driver injured his hands while running from the scene, authorities said.
Hackney fled, triggering a multi-agency ground and air search in which deputies and law enforcement with the State Patrol, Sequim police and Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, aided by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter as well as canine trackers, searched the area of Cameron Road south of U.S. Highway 101.
The aerial and ground search was suspended at 8 p.m. Thursday, but deputies continued to search Friday in the same area, Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron has said.
The shotgun used by Hackney on Thursday has not been recovered, and he is considered to be armed and dangerous, Turner said Monday.
Hackney, who is white, stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. He has several tattoos on both arms and his chest.
Anyone who sees Hackney is advised to call 9-1-1 and not approach him.
Chadwick Cargo, 40, a neighbor of Hackney’s on Cameron Road, was arrested Sunday for investigation of first-degree rendering criminal assistance, said county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg.
Authorities allege that Cargo provided transportation to Hackney.
Troberg said he plans to file a charge Wednesday.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
