FAYETTE COUNTY, Ohio — A man who led law enforcement in Fayette County on a two-day manhunt has been captured by U.S. Marshals.
According to Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth, what started as a series of crimes eventually ended with the suspect behind bars.
The Sheriff’s Office said the timeline of events began yesterday evening. Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, deputies received a call regarding a suspicious person in the area of Wesley Chapel Road. Reports say deputies located the individual with a motorcycle along a ditch line. The man told deputies that he was searching the area for his cell phone. The man, officials said, then took off on the bike, initiating a pursuit with law enforcement. Speeds in the chase reportedly reached nearly 100 mph before being terminated along route 38.
After 6 p.m., Stanforth said, his dispatchers received a call from a resident in the area of Wesley Chapel stating that the same suspect was again walking along the roadway. This time, deputies were involved in an altercation with the man. Upon the approach of the man, one deputy said the man told the same story regarding a missing cell phone. When the man attempted to flee a second time, a fight ensued between the deputy and the suspect. The man, authorities said, fled into a nearby wooded area on foot.
The sheriff’s office says the motorcycle came back, reported stolen from Fairfield County.
Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the search for the man, later identified as 24-year-old Tristan Metzger of Marion.
Troopers with deputies from the Sheriff’s Office searched the area but were unable to locate Metzger.
Sheriff Stanforth said around 8 a.m. today, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a local business regarding a stolen vehicle. Employees of Lakota Trailer Sales said a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado truck had been taken from their location.
Earlier this evening, U.S. Marshals took Metzger into custody at a residence on the east side of Columbus. He remains in custody at this time, facing multiple felony charges.
