CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A Chillicothe man was indicted by the Ross County Grand Jury after leading police in Chillicothe on a brief high-speed pursuit.
Michael Anthony Owes, a convicted sex offender, was wanted by the Adult Parole Authority for failure to register. Owes pled guilty in 2019 to gross sexual imposition. He was initially charged with the rape of a 5-year-old child. He subsequently took a deal, and the rape charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to two years in prison for the crime.
Owes has been the center of controversy over the years. He was a person of interest in the disappearance and death of Shasta Himelrick. Shasta was one of the many Chillicothe women who would go missing and later turn up dead. Himelricks’ body would be found in the Scioto River near Higby Road. According to the Ross County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Owes underwent a polygraph test, which he successfully passed. Himelrick’s death would later be ruled a suicide leaving a persistent skepticism among family and friends regarding her death on December 26, 2014.
Earlier this month, police in Chillicothe were notified that Owes was at the Autozone on North Bridge Street. Upon their arrival, officers attempted to engage with him, but Owes quickly reversed his vehicle and fled at a high speed. According to the police report, officers witnessed a small child in a car seat in the rear passenger seat as Owes made his escape, nearly colliding with oncoming traffic and running several red lights along South Bridge Street.
He would eventually be captured by law enforcement in Ross County.
He remains in custody at the Ross County Jail on a $50,000 bond.