PORT ANGELES — After a high-speed chase up winding Hurricane Ridge Road early Tuesday morning, Port Angeles police officers and a police dog captured a man and two passengers who escaped into the woods.
The 70- to 80-mph chase up the foggy mountain road began just after 1 a.m. when Police Cpl. Bob Ensor attempted to stop Kenneth James Elofson-Gilbertson.
Ensor said Elofson-Gilbertson had crossed the centerline of the road, failed to stop for a stop sign and had not used his turn signal near Mount Angeles Road.
After turning on his patrol car’s lights and siren, Ensor followed the 2001 gold Volvo S80 south on Mount Angeles Road at high speeds and continued onto Hurricane Ridge Road into Olympic National Park, the Port Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
Ensor slowed down because of a thick fog and other safety concerns and temporarily lost track of the car, said Cpl. Kevin R. Miller in the statement. Eventually, the vehicle was spotted. It had been abandoned.
Port Angeles Police Officer Allen Brusseau’s police dog, Kilo, sniffed at backpacks left behind by Elofson-Gilbertson and his two passengers.
Cpt. Jesse Winfield declined to name the two passengers, saying neither were charged in relation to the incident.
Kilo tracked the three through the forest for about one mile before finding them.
Elofson-Gilbertson was arrested on investigation of attempting to elude a pursing police vehicle, driving while license suspended and an outstanding failure to appear warrant.
He remained in custody Tuesday in the Clallam County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
He made a first appearance in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday and his arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.
Elofson-Gilbertson had eluded Port Angeles police officers during a chase December 2008 while driving a quad. The officers had backed off citing snowy conditions and safety concerns.
Elofson-Gilbertson later crashed into a cable barrier on South Washington Street, landing him in critical condition at Olympic Medical Center.
He was found by Port Angeles police shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, reclining between two bushes near where he had wrecked the all-terrain vehicle.
Elofson-Gilbertson hit the cable with enough force to jerk one of the concrete posts it was attached to slightly out of place.
Elofson-Gilbertson suffered a neck injury in addition to other cuts. The quad was found about 62 feet from the cable.
He was later found guilty of drunken driving in Clallam County District Court.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
