CAMBRIDGE — An Ohio man led police officers on a foot pursuit along a busy roadway on Saturday, fleeing after he saw an officer while the man was defecating in a wooded area outside a fast-food restaurant.

The 33-year-old man, whose identity was not reported Sunday, said he fled from police in Cambridge, approximately 75 miles east of Columbus, because he had illegal marijuana with him, according to police reports.

The man is facing single counts of possession of marijuana and obstructing justice following his arrest under a bridge on Southgate Parkway near Interstate 70. He was also wanted on a warrant for failure to appear in court while on bail from an undisclosed case, according to the website at the Guernsey County Jail.

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According to reports, a Cambridge officer was dispatched to the 2000 block of Southgate Parkway at 12:59 p.m. Saturday to investigate a report of a man hiding in the bushes near a restaurant’s drive-thru lanes.

On arrival, officers learned the male had moved to a nearby wooded area. The man then fled when he saw the police officer drive through the parking lot.

The officer reportedly parked in the lot at a nearby hotel and entered the wooded area in search of the man as additional police officers, Guernsey County sheriff’s deputies and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers converged on the area to help with the search.

A police lieutenant observed the man running north behind another restaurant as he traveled on Southgate Parkway and a foot pursuit ensued. The male was apprehended a short time later under a nearby bridge, and reportedly confessed to being the man seen outside the other restaurant.

He reportedly told officers he was in the woods “pooping” when he became scared and ran away. The suspected marijuana in his possession was seized as evidence.

The male was transported to the county jail where he remained incarcerated as of late Sunday. He was scheduled to appear in the Cambridge Municipal Court to answer to the charges.

The incident remained under investigation Sunday by Cambridge police.