13-Year-Old Arrested After Wild Chase Through Seashore State Park

Sussex County, DE - A quiet night of camping turned into a high-speed chase early Monday morning, ending with a 13-year-old boy in custody. The incident happened at Delaware Seashore State Park and involved several police agencies working together to catch the juvenile.

State Park officers were first alerted around 1:45 a.m. on July 6. A vehicle was spotted speeding northbound on Coastal Highway from Fenwick Island. Officers quickly began tracking it down.

The chase moved through multiple jurisdictions, including right through Delaware Seashore State Park. Police say the driver was going at a high rate of speed and even crossed into oncoming traffic lanes. It was a dangerous situation for everyone on the road.

Officers eventually used stop sticks to bring the pursuit to an end. But the driver wasn't ready to give up. He jumped out of the vehicle and ran off on foot, managing to evade capture for several hours.

After some investigation, officers identified the driver as a 13-year-old boy. He had been camping with his family at Delaware Seashore State Park. Interestingly, both the owner of the stolen vehicle and the juvenile's own family were camping at the same park and had no idea what happened.

Later on that morning, around 5:40 a.m., the boy's father stepped in and turned his son over to officers. He was taken into custody without any further incident.

The juvenile was transported to the Fenwick Island Police Department. From there, he was arraigned by Sussex County Family Court and committed to the Stevenson House Youth Detention Facility. Bail was set at $4,800.

He now faces a long list of charges, including attempted vehicular assault, disregarding a police officer's signal, and theft of a motor vehicle. Additional charges include resisting arrest, reckless driving at 90 mph or greater, and driving without a valid license. Several other traffic-related charges were also added to the list.

Disclosure: All individuals mentioned in this article are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Eastern Shore Undercover® does not express or imply any opinion regarding the incident reported.