MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was tracked down by Grant County Sheriff’s Office K-9 deputy Grizzly after leading police on a high speed chase in a stolen vehicle.

About 7 p.m. the Moses Lake Police Department responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the Lower Basin Homes neighborhood. The vehicle in question had reportedly been left unattended and running in a driveway, according to Moses Lake police.

The vehicle was spotted 10 minutes later by a MLPD officer in the downtown Moses Lake area. The officer tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver, identified as Fernando Camarena, 22, of Moses Lake, did not pull over and continued driving to Interstate 90.

Camarena reached speeds in excess of 100 mph on I-90 and reportedly lost control of the vehicle several times. He was reportedly driving at a high-speed when he went onto the Hiawatha Road off-ramp and was going too fast to make the turn. The vehicle went airborne and into a nearby field. Camarena allegedly drove through the field until he re-entered I-90, heading west.

Camarena reportedly drove through a fence and traveled over North Frontage Road and went off the road. Moses Lake police say Camarena drove to the middle of a field and ditched the stolen vehicle and fled on foot.

Grant County deputy Dave De La Rosa and K-9 Grizzly responded to the area and Grizzly tracked Camarena about 700 yards from where he ditched the stolen vehicle. Camarena was taken into custody without incident and was booked into the Grant County Jail for theft of a motor vehicle, felony eluding, hit-and-run and malicious mischief.

“We would like to take this opportunity to remind people that it is never a good idea to leave a car running and unattended,” stated the MLPD in a release on Wednesday “Each year, as the weather gets cold, we experience a rash of incidents in which unattended, running cars are stolen. These are crimes of opportunity, and all of us are responsible for limiting opportunities for thieves.“

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.