Cougar Gulch suspect still at large, unidentified
<p>Standing outside her home in Cougar Gulch, Barbara Reames says while she never felt panic, the sense of caution was prevalent on Tuesday when law enforcement was searching for a man near her property who allegedly assaulted a police officer with a stolen vehicle. "There's a feeling of security here," Reames said on Wednesday. "[My neighbors and I] have a pretty good network for looking out for one another."</p>
<p>Virginia Johnson discusses on Wednesday outside her Cougar Gulch home how her family wasn't too concerned about the manhunt being conducted by law enforcement on Tuesday near her property.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE — Living near U.S. 95, Graydon and Virginia Johnson are used to hearing sirens, but Tuesday's manhunt hit a little too close to home at their residence in Cougar Gulch.
"First time we've experienced anything like this since the place across the road was burglarized 60 years ago," said Graydon, who lives on Meadowbrook Loop. "They never found that guy either.
"I was handling (Tuesday's manhunt) well until it occurred to me that all of this was happening in the daylight, so I began to wonder what night would be like. When night came I became uneasy. We made sure we kept our doors locked."
The search began in the Cougar Gulch area Tuesday morning after a man driving a stolen vehicle reportedly rammed an Idaho State Police car during a car chase that resulted in gunfire. The suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.
The hunt for the suspect was suspended Wednesday morning. The trooper was not injured.
As of press time Wednesday night, the suspect remained on the run and hadn't been identified.
"Detectives are working feverishly on processing the car and trying to get fingerprints off of it," Kootenai County Sheriff's Office Lt. Stu Miller said. "Their main focus is on identifying who this is."
When asked if the KCSO is withholding the name of the suspect to protect the investigation, Miller said: "They (the detectives) truly don't know who it is yet."
Miller said at least one gunshot was fired, but how many others haven't been determined.
"The trooper is still under the 72-hour protocol to be interviewed," he said.
The KCSO and ISP have not disclosed whether one or more gunshots were from the suspect’s gun, the trooper’s weapon, or both.
"It's under investigation, so that's not something we're ready to release," said Teresa Baker, ISP spokeswoman.
However, Cougar Gulch resident Barbara Reames said a neighbor was told by law enforcement personnel that the suspect fired at least one shot.
Reports that other shots were fired later in the morning during the search are unconfirmed, Miller said.
"It's also turkey season and people shoot target practice on their rural properties," he said, referring to other gunshot possibilities.
The male suspect is described as possibly being in his 30s and unshaven. He was wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt. An approximate height wasn't obtained because the suspect was in the car when spotted by the ISP trooper.
While the active search in Cougar Gulch for the suspect was suspended Wednesday morning, Miller said deputies will continue to patrol the area.
"We are not abandoning Cougar Gulch residents," Miller said, adding that the law enforcement checkpoints in that area ended around 10 a.m. Wednesday after being conducted all day and night Tuesday.
Access during that time was restricted to residents who live in that area.
Reames said a neighbor told her the suspect was seen running across a pasture near Meadowbrook Loop after he ditched the green 2004 Kia Rio in the driveway of a home in the 5000 block of Cougar Gulch Road.
The car the suspect was driving was stolen in Coeur d'Alene about two weeks ago, Miller said.
The stolen car triggered police's BOSS driver's license identification system twice as it passed by Interstate 90 on Monday night and again Tuesday morning.
The car apparently exited on Spokane Street or Highway 41 in Post Falls on Monday and couldn't be located by police.
When it triggered the system again around 7 a.m. Tuesday an ISP trooper was in the vicinity and chased the suspect after he allegedly refused to stop.
The suspect drove southbound on U.S. 95 to the Mica grade about 8 miles south of Coeur d’Alene.
Based on the initial investigation, the suspect allegedly intentionally rammed the trooper’s vehicle during the pursuit. Additionally, after the trooper’s car was hit, there were reports that at least one gunshot was fired, according to the KCSO.
Miller said he didn't know the extent of the damage caused to the ISP car.
The pursuit then went north on U.S. 95 to Cougar Gulch Road. After abandoning the car, the suspect fled into a forested area to the south.
"The road he drove on (off Cougar Gulch Road) may have appeared to him to be one to get away on, but it's just a long driveway," Miller said.
A K-9 followed a scent south before it fizzled in the forest, Miller said.
"We threw out a lot of resources to find the guy, but the tree canopy and terrain made it difficult to find him from the helicopter and on the ground," Miller said.
Coeur d’Alene Police, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office with its search helicopter and several members of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force assisted the KCSO and ISP in the search.
Those with information are urged to call the KCSO at 446-1300 or leave an anonymous tip at www.kcsheriff.com under the "Contact" section.
Miller said Cougar Gulch residents were told to keep their homes, outbuildings and vehicles locked and to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
"All night long we fielded calls from residents who asked for us to check out their shops and outbuildings, so we sent people to search," Miller said.
Reames, who lives about a mile from where the suspect abandoned the car, said the manhunt was "unnerving" at the start, but the strong presence of law enforcement patrolling the area made her feel better.
"I felt safe and secure and slept like a log all night long," she said. "It was nice to see law enforcement around. I was cautious, but didn't panic. We live a different lifestyle out here and most people are calm. I locked my gate and left the lights on all night in case the police needed to see something."
She said that area also has a phone tree system to notify neighbors when something unusual is happening, so residents were informed.
Virginia Johnson said she received several inquiries from friends on Tuesday to make sure she was OK. When she noticed the checkpoints had been stopped on Wednesday, she thought the suspect must've been caught.
She said that while she was on alert with all of the activity, she also felt safe with police hovering.
Reames said she believes the suspect is long gone from the Cougar Gulch area.
"He would have to be unintelligent to still be here," she said.