Employee kidnapped from Huber Heights auto shop; manhunt ends without arrest for truck thief

HUBER HEIGHTS — UPDATE @ 2 p.m.:

Police have called off a manhunt without locating a man who stole a truck from a Huber Heights auto shop with an employee still in the bed of the truck, according to police.

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The theft of the white Ford Ranger happened at the TireChoice Auto Service Center in the area of Old Troy Pike and I-70 around 11:15 a.m., said Sgt. Brian Carr with the Huber Heights Police Division.

Shortly after the truck was stolen the employee was able to escape from the truck in the area of state Route 4 and Chambersburg Road, Carr said. Someone had followed the stolen pickup on the highway while it sped off from the auto shop.

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The suspect was described as a white male wearing a white COVID-19 mask and possibly a orange or green safety vest. Police released a picture of the suspect to News Center 7 shortly after calling off the manhunt.

Police later reported spotting the truck behind an abandoned farm house and started pursuing the truck through parts of Huber Heights and later into a cornfield near state Route 235 and Sandhill Road in Bath Twp., Greene County, according to police scanner traffic.

Multiple agencies searched in the area into the early afternoon but called off the search without locating the suspect around 1:50 p.m., Carr said. Drones, K-9 officers, and aircraft were used during the search.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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