19/03/2008

'Canal Leap' Fugitive Sought

Police are still seeking a fugitive in Co Down after two others took to the water to escape officers, only to be caught soon after.

The pair - who ran off from a car the police were chasing - were arrested, despite leaping into a canal.

They took to the chilly waters of the Newry canal around midnight yesterday after police used a 'stinger' device to stop the car in which they were travelling.

Three other people were in the vehicle, which failed to stop at a checkpoint on the Fathom Line.

A man and a woman were arrested at the scene, a man ran off into woods and the two others jumped into the canal.

They were seized after they climbed onto land, but had to be airlifted by helicopter because they were suffering from hypothermia.

Police are still seeking one man who was in the car and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

(BMcC)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

23 June 2016
Police Officers Disciplined For Failing To Tell Doctor About Woman's Head Injuries
Two police officers have been disciplined after they failed to let their colleagues and a police doctor know that a woman had sustained a head injury, a Police Ombudsman investigation has concluded. The woman died from bleeding to the brain on 24 February 2014, the day after she suffered the injury.
12 April 2017
Man Arrested Over Murder Of George Gilmore
A 39-year-old man has been arrested by police investigating the murder of George Gilmore. Mr Gilmore, aged 44, was shot in the neck in Carrickfergus on Monday, 13 March. He died from his injuries in hospital the following day, 14 March. The suspect was detained in Co Antrim on Wednesday, 12 April, and is being questioned at Musgrave police station.
03 July 2007
Man questioned about 1988 murder
A man has been arrested in connection with police inquiries into a murder in 1988. The body of Lily Smyth, 66, was found in her flat at Moveen House in Dunmurry on October 9, 1988. The pensioner had been strangled. A police spokesperson said that a 43-year-old man had been arrested and is being questioned at Antrim Police Station.
16 June 2017
Colin Horner Murder: Man Arrested
A 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Colin Horner. Mr Horner, 35, was fatally shot in front of his young son in a supermarket car park on Sunday, 28 May. The man was arrested in the Newtownards area on Friday, 16 June. He has been taken to Musgrave Police station for questioning.
30 January 2015
Armed Robber Dresses As Police Officer
Police are searching for two men in connection with the attempted armed robbery of a shop in Co Armagh. Police said that one of the men who attempted to rob the shop on West Street, Portadown, was dressed as a policeman. It is understood two men entered the shop at about 10am on Thursday, one of them was carrying a suspected firearm.