A suspected SUV thief is being treated for hypothermia Thursday after jumping into the Willamette River to escape police and later needing to be rescued.
John W. Victor drove away from a Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy around 9:55 a.m. during a traffic stop, the sheriff’s office said. The 2008 Toyota Rav4 he was in had been reported stolen earlier on Thursday.
The sheriff’s office hasn’t yet said where the stop occurred. Police drove after Victor, 27, until he ran from the SUV in West Linn and headed towards the river, the sheriff’s office said.
Victor was later found near a river bank and a sheriff’s office boat was used to get him out of the water and back to shore, authorities said.
