Suspected lumber thieves lead Salida police on chase through nearby woods

SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Salida police are searching for two men involved with an attempted lumber theft.

Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. a citizen of Salida witnessed two suspicious men loading lumber onto a trailer being pulled by a white full-size truck. After loading the lumber, the men left the area.

The citizen then called the police and began following the suspects at a safe distance. The citizen told officers the truck left the city limits and began traveling west toward Highway 385.

As police made their way to the area, the citizen said a passenger in the vehicle began firing multiple rounds from a handgun outside the passenger side window.

Shortly after, police arrived and pursued a vehicle near Highway 285 and County Road 140. The pursuit lasted a short distance into the Eagle Moon Ranch subdivision, that's when the vehicle crashed and both suspects fled on foot

The Chaffee County Combined Tactical team was activated and a large-scale search operation was launched by a joint team consisting of the Salida Police Department, Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, Colorado Department of Corrections, US Bureau of Land Management, and Chaffee County Search and Rescue.

After several hours the search was scaled back. As of Tuesday afternoon, the suspects remain at large and their identity has not been confirmed.