CAUGHT: Law enforcement nabs farm thief

By Brandi Makuski

Portage Co. Sheriff Mike Lukas says a suspected thief has been taken into custody.

Lukas said the man, identified only as a white male with dark hair, was arrested by law enforcement at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday after hiding from police and deputies for several hours. Law enforcement had been searching for the man in a cornfield near the intersection of County highways M and O in the Town of Carson after a caller reported a theft at a farm there.

A farmer reportedly confronted the suspect before law enforcement arrived, Lukas said, but the suspect ran into a nearby cornfield, triggering a response from law enforcement at the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Stevens Point and Plover. K9 units from multiple agencies were also activated, and deputies even deployed aerial drone surveillance, with no luck.

Lukas said it was not immediately clear what the man was attempting to steal.

The Portage County Community Alert system has also been updated, alerting nearby residents the suspect had been caught and no longer posed any threat to the public.

No further information was immediately available, Lukas said.

“I don’t even have the suspect’s name; this just happened,” he added.

Lukas said additional information would become available Thursday.