Chase passes through Hillsboro

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A multi-county high-speed chase Friday went south on K-15 from Abilene to US-56, then east on US-56 to Hillsboro, south along Ash St. in Hillsboro, then continued on Indigo Rd., before turning west on US-50 to Harvey County.

Hillsboro Police Chief Jessey Hiebert said a Hillsboro officer went to the intersection of US-56 and K-15 north / Holly Rd. to try to block the driver from turning toward Hillsboro, but that effort failed.

The car, followed by Dickinson and Marion county deputies, turned south on Ash St. at 12:30 p.m. and passed through town at speeds of about 40 mph, Hiebert said.

Hillsboro police stopped pursuing after the driver left the city limits and continued south on Indigo Rd. Deputies continued chasing until the car reached the Harvey County line, Hiebert said.

No accidents or injuries were reported in Hillsboro, he said.

“It was in and out, probably about 2½ minutes,” Hiebert said.

Hiebert said he’d heard the driver was eventually caught in Sedgwick County.

According to Abilene Police Chief Jason Wilkins, the suspect, Wanda O’Shields, 39, of Okeechobee, Florida, had cashed checks at an Abilene bank Thursday using stolen identification, then returned to the bank Friday in an effort to cash more checks.

Police were summoned, and O’Shields fled.

After she was apprehended in Sedgwick County, she was booked into Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of identity theft and forgery, which happened in Sedgwick County, Wilkins said.