UPDATE: Body found in river ID’d, is not that of driver who fled

Crews searched by boat and by air Monday morning for a man who ran toward a Mississippi River bluff after St. Paul officers pulled him over, according to the police department.

Later on Monday, a man’s body was found in the river, near the Ford Dam, but officials cautioned that it was too soon to say if the body was that of the fleeing motorist.

Police did not know whether the man in that case went in the river, Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman, said earlier in the day.

The situation began when officers saw a sport-utility vehicle driving fast early Monday but lost sight of it. Soon after, about 1:30 a.m., they saw the vehicle again “prowling” an alley between Scheffer and Eleanor avenues by Cleveland Avenue, Ernster said.

Police tried to stop the vehicle and it briefly pulled over. The front-seat passenger got out and the SUV continued for more than four blocks with police following.

At Highland Parkway and Mississippi River Boulevard, the driver pulled the SUV off the road and onto the walkway and then ran, Ernster said. He went into the woods toward the river bluff and disappeared. It’s a steep drop to the river.

FD & PD searching river bluff at Mississippi River Blvd with MART for driver of car in chase who fled into the wooded bluff. State PD copter pic.twitter.com/IS4B3ZDfTH — Saint Paul Fire Dept (@StPaulFireDept) May 22, 2017

“Officers were concerned the male had possibly not known the area and ran off the river bluff, and they searched the area for him in case he was trapped or injured,” Ernster said. Two other people were in the SUV when the driver ran. Related Articles Neighborhood girl finds and returns chef Justin Sutherland’s stolen knife roll

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The Minnesota State Patrol helicopter joined the search for the driver, using infrared, police said. St. Paul and Minneapolis firefighters also used boats to check the river.

After sunup Monday morning, the State Patrol helicopter and St. Paul firefighters searched again but did not find the man.

About 4:45 p.m. Monday, officials were notified about a possible body in the river near the Ford Bridge, according to the Ramsey County sheriff’s office. Rescuers recovered the body.

Police said it would not be known whether the man was connected to the traffic stop until he is identified.