A fugitive from Cherryvale was taken into custody after eluding police and camping in a tree for nearly four hours on Tuesday afternoon.

 

Jeremiah McKenzie was wanted on a failure to appear for possession of a weapon charge out of Montgomery County. He led police on a short chase to Johnstone Park where he left his vehicle and entered the Caney River.

 

The vehicle McKenzie was in was reported stolen out of Dodge City. A K9 officer chased McKenzie into the Caney River, where he than floated down stream to a tree.

 

With a waterfall and faster currents awaiting McKenzie under the bridge, he held onto the tree tight.

 

The Bartlesville Fire Department threw McKenzie a life jacket when they met him on the north side of the bank. They then set up their rescue boat to get McKenzie out of the water. However, McKenzie was not ready to be taken into custody, so he climbed up the tree.

 

From there it was a waiting game for everyone involved. McKenzie was in the tree for approximately four hours before coming down peacefully.

 

Bartlesville Police Captain Jay Hasting told KWON that there was a female passenger in the vehicle McKenzie fled on foot from.

 

There are a couple of misdemeanor and felony charges that McKenzie will face now that he is in custody. Those charges will be dealt with in Washington County. When McKenzie is done with the court process then the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office will place a hold on McKenzie, and he will have to deal with the legal issues he is faced with in Kansas.

 

McKenzie could be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and eluding police on top of other charges.

 

McKenzie climbed up the tree around 1:20 PM on Tuesday afternoon. He came down around 5:28 PM that same afternoon. 

 

 

Bartlesville Police Chief

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Video - End is the individual coming down out of the tree