Chambers County Sheriff Sid Lockhart was patrolling a dirt road Monday afternoon in search of a Georgia man on the run when he came across a would-be hitchhiker- who happened to be the very suspect he was looking for.

David Blake Thaxton, 26, of LaGrange, Ga., was wanted for kidnapping in his home state but had fled into Alabama. Lockhart, along with other agencies, had been looking for Thaxton for a few hours.

"We had the helicopter up and some tracking dogs, and we couldn't find him," Lockhart said. "We knew he took off into the woods, and that he had tattoos."

About 2 p.m. Lockhart came across a man fitting that description wearing jogging pants. The sheriff said he was "99 percent" sure this was Thaxton, though Thaxton did not appear as scratched up as he expected.

"He didn't recognize who I was, so he jogged up and asked for a ride," Lockhart said. "I said, 'Hop on in."

When Thaxton opened the door to the unmarked truck, he saw a police radio, radar equipment and Lockhart's shirt, emblazoned with a badge. He immediately fled the scene.

Authorities caught up with him several hours later. He was charged with attempting to elude and faces other charges in Georgia.

According to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Thaxton was suspected of kidnapping a woman from a hotel and carrying her into Alabama before abandoning the vehicle.