A Missoula man is behind bars after a high-speed chase Sunday night through the Mission Valley.
Matthew Harold VanValin, 29, was arrested after a pursuit that began in Ronan and ended 36 miles later at the Grey Wolf Casino in Evaro, according to Lake County Sheriff Don Bell.
Missoula County Sheriff’s Office deputies put stop sticks out near mile marker 10 on U.S. Highway 93 North and flattened the tires on the stolen vehicle. A short foot pursuit ensued and VanValin was taken into custody.
No injuries were reported and the pursuit ended around midnight.
Sheriff Bell stated the pursuit started at about 11:15 p.m. when a Lake County deputy noticed a vehicle in Ronan that fit the description of a stolen vehicle out of Missoula.
The deputy verified the plate and when the vehicle came back stolen, the deputy activated his emergency lights and siren. The driver of the stolen vehicle — later idenified as VanValin — then fled the stop at a high rate of speed heading south out of Ronan.
The Ronan Police Department, CSKT Tribal Police, the Montana Highway Patrol and the Missoula County Sheriff Office assisted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in apprehending VanValin, according to Sheriff Bell.
VanValin is in the Missoula County Detention Center.
