GREENFIELD — A couple police say ran from the scene of an accident Tuesday morning after crashing a stolen pickup truck pleaded not guilty to theft Thursday in court.
Police arrested William Thornburgh, 33, 4926 W. Morris St., Indianapolis, early Wednesday morning after calling off a hours-long search for the man the day before, records show.
Police said Thornburgh and Melanie Little, 32, 5080 E. County Road 300N, Fillmore, stole a red pickup truck and were spotted driving it around Hancock County on Tuesday.
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Police tried to stop the truck near the intersection of county roads 300N and 100W Tuesday around 10:30 a.m. after the vehicle had been reported stolen, police said.
The driver of the car refused to stop, leading officers on a brief chase before the driver crashed along County Road 300N just west of Fortville Pike, dispatch records show.
Thornburgh and Little ran from the scene of the accident on foot, police said.
Police dogs found Little a short time later near Beckenholdt Park in Greenfield. She was taken into custody and treated for dog-bite wounds, police said.
Officers and police dogs with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Greenfield Police Department and Indiana State Police searched for Thornburgh for more than two hours, even calling in a state police airplane to search from the sky, investigators said.
Police found him early Wednesday walking near Beckenholdt Park; he surrendered to officers without incident, police said.
Thornburgh told investigators he’d hidden under a pier in a pond in the park while police searched for him earlier that day, officers said.
Thornburgh faces charges of auto theft and resisting law enforcement, each as a Level 6 felony.
Little faces a charge of auto theft as a Level 6 felony.
Both cases were filed in Hancock County Superior Court 1.