HUNTED MEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21980, 26 March 1946, Page 6

HUNTED MEN

ALL CARS_CHECKED RUSE CONSTABLE EVADED CHASE AFTER A BUICK. (P.A.) PALMERSTON N.. March 26. Four hours after the exciting events at Bulls the scene of action changed to the rugged country and farm lands between Shannon and Levin, following the determined chase of the suspected robbers bv Constable C. Haresnape, stationed at Levin. The constable had stationed himself on the main highway between Shannon and Levin and was checking all cars proceeding both ways. He knew a change in cars had been made by the men and when he saw a big black car approaching he signalled it to stop. The driver slowed down and crawled past the constable's car, at the same time pulling in to the left of the road as if to stop. The constable walked towards it, but the driver continued on at just more than walking pace and Constable Haresnape realised then that it was not going to stop. He thereupon ran back to the car in which he had travelled, driven by an Army officer, with the intention of giving chase. Pursuit, at 70 Miles an Hour They were not far from an intersection and when the big black Buick car reached the crossroads it suddenly turned right around and came towards the constable, who naturally thought the driver was coming back to find out what was wanted. The constable again signalled the driver to stop, but the latter, on getting level with the police officer, stepped on the accelerator and sped away in the direction of Palmerston North. Constable Haresnape gave chase in the Army car and, although they reached 70 miles an hour, the black 1 Buick just left them standing. Constable Haresnape continued on till he met a man driving cattle and inquired of him if he had seen a black car go by. The drover had not. so the constable turned back, realising that his quarry must have taken a side road. This proved to be correct, for as the constable was making inquiries at a house the Buick again flashed by and the chase began again. Cattle Cause Slow-down A mob of cattle again came into the picture, for they compelled the iugitive driver .to slow down, and it was this happening that enabled Constable Haresnape to get close enough to fire a bullet into a rear tyre. Then the cattle opened out to give the black car a clear getaway. Unfortunately they moved across the road in front of the policeman’s car and blocked his passage. The drover who had witnessed the chase called out that Constable Haresnape had punctured the tyre, so it was no surprise to him to discover the Buick ditched on the side of the road some considerable distance further on. He saw one man leave the car and run across to the farm of Mr. Jack Bowker and, on arriving at the spot, set out on foot after him, but the fugitive had managed to hide himself in rough country. By that time, however, thinking the man might try to ge.t to the Kopu.taroa railway station, where goods trains frequently stop, Constable Haresnape made for there. Sergeant Fuller, of Palmerston North, who is stationed at Levin temporarily, arrived later and also took up the search but without seeing a sign of anyone. Darkness finally put an end to these activities and all the police could do then was to keep watch on vital roads and junctions. Fugitives in Rugged Country When Sergeant Fuller and Constable Haresnape examined the car shortly after it was abandoned there was nothing in tlie way of money or guns in it. It rests on the side of the road with the left-hand wheels in a wa.tertable. Both rear tyres and .the front right one were deflated. It was impossible to discover last night whether a bullet had penetrated the right rear tyre. While Constable Haresnape reported that he only saw one man get out of the car a young man working on Mr. Bowker’s farm reports seeing three men making across country. The farm lands in the locality are very rugged and consist of tableland through which run many deep gullies covered, in the most part, by bracken, while at the bottom of gullies are swamps in which rushes and flax abound. About a mile away and parallel with the highway runs the Palmerston North-Wellington railway, with swamps and scattered bush on each side. It is a locality where anyone knowing the lay of the land might find it fairly easy to escape capture.