Manhunt underway near Agency

A manhunt is underway in south-central Iowa after a police chase. The Wappello County Sheriff’s Department got a call just before eight o’clock that tires had been shot out of car. The suspect was seen leaving the area in a car with a California license plate. Shortly afterward, a high-speed chase ensued between Ottumwa and Agency on the old Highway 34 road. The supect abandoned his car and fled on foot. Reports says the male suspect may have a high-powered rifle. Wappello County deputies, officers from the Ottumwa Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol are searching a heavily wooded area. Police have brought in four-wheeled a-t-v’s, aircraft from Des Moines and Cedar Rapids,and a drug dog from Fairfield to help in the search.