State park ranger helps rescue an unconscious woman in a swampy Pasco pond
A car chase in Pasco turned into a rescue after a woman tried to run barefoot through a swampy area near Sacajawea State Park.
Officers had been looking for a 2007 Pontiac G6 sedan since Aug. 31 after a man reported that two people stole his car while he was in jail. He was threatened when he went to get it back, Pasco police said.
Detective Matt Griffin spotted the car in an alley near the cable bridge at 7 p.m. Friday and alerted other officers. When the sedan pulled onto the street, the Pasco Street Crimes Unit signaled for the driver to pull over.
The suspected driver, Andre Sanchez, 38, of Kennewick, sped away on Ainsworth Street, Pasco police said in a Facebook post. Sanchez kept going through the Port of Pasco warehouse area. When he reached the end of the street, he tried to turn, but went over an embankment and crashed.
Officers arrived in time to see Sanchez running toward some trees and his passenger, Shianne R.M. Botts, heading into a nearby swampy area.
Officers quickly found Sanchez, but Botts had disappeared, leaving behind her flip flops. With temperatures beginning to drop, police worried about her safety.
“The country was relatively easy to contain but difficult to search, especially with just moonlight and flashlights,” police said. “It was the middle of nowhere and it was unknown if the wreck had injured her.”
Washington State Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to help in the search. Officers also tried searching with a drone.
Eventually, a Washington State Park ranger found Botts wet, cold and unconscious in a pond.
Later, Sanchez and Botts were booked into the Franklin County jail. Sanchez was arrested for attempting to elude officers and possessing a stolen vehicle. Botts was booked for possessing the stolen vehicle.
Anyone with more information about the incident is asked to call Pasco police at 509-628-0333 or email griffinm@pasco-wa.gov.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.