An armed robbery suspect who Horry County police say they chased for 30 miles along back roads is thought to have shot and killed himself after crashing into a cornfield, a source confirmed to NewsChannel 15.
Around 6:15 Saturday night Horry County police received a call of an armed robbery at a Family Dollar store in Little River, officials with the Horry County Police Department said.
Lt. Jay Brantly said as officers were en route to the armed robbery they spotted the suspect vehicle and tried to initiate a stop.
The suspect, according to Brantly, continued down Highway 17 and onto Highway 9 toward Loris before running off the road on Highway 917 near the Finklea community.
Somewhere along the way the suspect tried to run into a police cruiser, but he missed and instead ran another cruiser off the road, Brantly said.
Brantly said the officer driving that cruiser, Sgt. Jeff Gause, was flown by helicopter to New Hanover Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C. Brantly said Gause was released Sunday morning and is doing OK.
After running the officer off the road, the suspect continued along Highway 917 before crashing through a ditch, into a front yard and eventually plowing several hundred feet through a cornfield in the 4300 block of Highway 917, Brantly said.
Citing an on-going investigation by SLED, Lt. Brantly, nor Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendricks, would confirm what killed the suspect -- who is said to be a 41-year-old male from Marion.
However, a source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the suspect died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Neither SLED nor the Horry County Police Department could -- or would -- confirm whether shots were fired between officers and the suspect, but a SLED spokeswoman said that would be looked into as part of the investigation.
As for Gause, Lt. Brantly said no disciplinary action is being taken against the officer at this time, although he is on medical leave.
