Whitney M. Woodworth

Statesman Journal

An attempted car theft turned into a violent police chase after a Lyons man fired shots at a group and jumped off a bridge over the Santiam River to avoid capture by deputies Sunday evening, officials said.

Visitors to the North Fork County Park, who were alerted by their car alarm, discovered a man breaking into their vehicle, according to a Marion County Sheriff's Office statement.

The victims began to chase the suspect, a 29-year-old Lyons man later identified at Forrest Frost, down North Fork Road. Witnesses reported seeing Frost drive recklessly and fire multiple rounds at the victims' vehicle. Neither the victims nor their vehicle were struck by the rounds, but they abandoned the pursuit.

Not long after, a Linn County deputy spotted Frost's Ford Explorer near Lyons. Frost fled and led the deputy on chase back up North Fork Road. Marion County deputies and Oregon State Police troopers joined the fray and deployed spike strips, shredding the SUV's tires.

After his vehicle was disabled, Frost abandoned it, ran to the Pioneer Road Bridge and leaped from the 30-foot-tall bridge into the Santiam River.

Frost floated several hundred yards down the river and swam ashore. K-9 teams from Marion County and the Salem Police Department tracked Frost to a heavily wooded area. The sheriff's office SWAT team was also called into to search the steep, wooded terrain. Officials searched the forest for several hours and into the next day.

Around 1 a.m. on Monday, Frost peacefully surrendered to deputies. He was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree assault, unlawful entry into a vehicle, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to elude police, second-degree theft and first-degree robbery.

He was taken to Marion County jail and held until his arraignment on Monday at 3 p.m. at the Marion County Circuit Court Annex.

Email wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

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