Girls flee ResCare, steal van and try to run down police officer

Monday, May 6, 2013

CRAWFORDSVILLLE -- Four teenage girls, who fled a Greencastle youth home and allegedly stole the facility's van in the process, are in police custody in Montgomery County after reportedly trying to run over a Crawfordsville police officer early Sunday.

Indiana State Police officials told the Banner Graphic that the female juveniles, ages 13-17, had escaped from the ResCare Residential Program in Greencastle early Sunday morning, stealing a 2002 Ford van to make their getaway.

Although the runaway girls headed north on U.S. 231 toward Montgomery County, there was no initial police pursuit or interaction locally, Greencastle authorities noted.

First contact with the juveniles came at approximately 1:20 a.m. when a Crawfordsville officer spotted the maroon van on the south side of his city. Authorities had been on the lookout for the vehicle after the van was reported stolen out of Greencastle.

The stolen van was stopped by the officer in the parking lot of the Crawfordsville Sears Appliance Store along U.S. 231.

When the officer stepped from his squad car and ordered the subjects out of the vehicle, the teenage driver instead put the van into reverse, struck the police car, and reportedly attempted to run the officer down.

The officer fired several rounds at the van to protect himself, an Indiana State Police press release noted. None of the juveniles was reported injured.

As the van then exited the Sears lot, the officer, apparently uninjured, returned to his damaged squad car to pursue the van.

The van headed back south on U.S. 231 for about a block before turning into the Wal-Mart driveway with the police officer behind the vehicle in pursuit.

When the van stopped, all four occupants fled on foot, police said.

As other officers arrived, the initial officer had placed one female juvenile into custody. He advised the arriving Crawfordsville and Montgomery County Sheriff's Department officers that the other suspects had fled on foot into a nearby ditch.

After a short foot pursuit, the other three girls were taken into custody without incident.

Charges against the juveniles will be forwarded to the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office. The girls will likely also face charges in Putnam County as well since the van was stolen in Greencastle.

It was not immediately known why the girls headed toward Crawfordsville or where they were ultimately going after reportedly stealing the van.

The incident is being investigated by Master Trooper Det. Jay Harper and First Sgt. Tom McKee of the Indiana State Police (ISP) Criminal Investigation Division, Sgt. Jim Cody of the ISP Crime Scene Investigations Unit, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and the Crawfordsville Police Department.

Putnam County Deputy T.J. Smith also reportedly responded to the Crawfordsville scene Sunday.

ResCare, according to its website, offers residential and group home settings for girls and boys experience behavioral problems in the home, at school or within the community.