Man arrested after chase

The Daily Inter Lake

A Flathead County man was arrested Sunday afternoon after leading sheriff's deputies and Montana Highway Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase south of Kalispell.

Andy Wigner, 28, is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center pending charges from the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

According to investigators, a trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol attempted to stop Wigner, who was driving a pickup truck with fictitious plates east on Cemetery Road, on a traffic violation about 4 p.m. Sunday.

Wigner - who was wanted for violating the terms of his probation - sped away, eventually crashing his truck into a swampy field in the Lower Valley Road area.

After grabbing a backpack and what officers believe was a rifle, Wigner fled on foot but was soon taken into custody.

Investigators found his backpack but were still searching the area Sunday evening for the rifle.