PORT ANGELES — Two Port Angeles residents were taken into custody Thursday morning after a two-hour chase and search of the woods and neighborhood near Peninsula College following the second reported theft of the same car.
The car, a 1993 Honda Civic, had been reported stolen Jan. 10. The owner had come back into possession of it, said Deputy Chief Brian Smith of the Port Angeles Police Department, adding that he did not know how or when that happened.
The owner reported the car stolen a second time Thursday morning, Smith said.
Stephanie Lynn Case, also known as Stephanie Boucher, 26, was booked into the county jail Thursday for investigation of theft of a car and eluding police and on two warrants after being located by a police dog working with a tracking team and Peninsula College security team members, Smith said.
Robert Lee Coberly, 35, was found in the area and was booked for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle in a case related to the Jan. 10 stolen car report.
Coberly was not booked for the Thursday morning incident, Smith said, adding that that investigation is continuing.
An officer had seen Coberly in the car before it was reported Jan. 10, Smith said.
After it was reported stolen, probable cause was developed for arresting him for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Between Jan. 10 and Thursday, the owner “got the car back,” Smith said, before reporting it stolen again.
The woman taken into custody goes by both names. She was booked as Stephanie Case. The warrants were for failure to appear and for a gross misdemeanor.
After the owner reported the car stolen early Thursday morning, two people were spotted in it at about 8:30 a.m. on Front Street, Smith said.
He said officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the two sped away, drove south on Penn Street and then onto Sixth Street before traveling off-road until they became caught behind the Highland Estates fence.
The two ran from the car, entering the wooded area in the White Creek drainage between Golf Course Drive and Peninsula College, Smith said.
The car was found there near the Highlands Estates fence, he added.
Smith said the Sequim Police Department dog Chase and a team of trackers located Case in the wooded area behind Peninsula College, in an area cleared for power line access, at about 10 a.m.
She told police the man she was with, whom she referred to as Rob, was armed, Smith said.
Coberly was taken into custody at the intersection of South Ennis and East Seventh streets at about 10:50 a.m., Smith said.
Police found no firearm on him, he said.
Peninsula College security team members, who had been notified of the search, were the searchers who first spotted Coberly.
“Peninsula College security members saw a male walking from the open-space area who matched the description of the suspect,” Smith said.
He said the team kept Coberly under surveillance and informed police of his movements until officers took him into custody.
“All the evidence indicates that he was in the vehicle and she was driving the vehicle,” Smith said.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol also assisted with containment of the area and in the search and tracking.
Roosevelt Elementary School at 106 Monroe Road and the Port Angeles School District transportation office at 627 Monroe Road were placed on modified lockdown during the search as part of standard procedure, said Gerald Gabbard, assistant superintendent teaching and learning at the school district.
The school and office are located across the Ennis Creek valley from the golf course.
During a modified lockdown, all outside doors are secured, all people coming and going from the school are monitored, and only known individuals are allowed access, Gabbard said.
Recess was held indoors, he added.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach contributed to this report.