Blount County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a LaFollette, Tenn. man, Brian Ivey, age 38, who was suspected of breaking into a car parked at Chimney’s Tops Trailhead inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rangers turned over pursuit of Ivey to Blount County Sheriff’s Office after the suspect exited that Park.
On Sunday, Dec. 2, at about 10:50 a.m., while conducting a surveillance operation, a park ranger witnessed what he believed to be a break-in of a vehicle parked at Chimney Tops Trailhead on Newfound Gap Road. He observed a suspect leave the scene in a Ford pick-up truck. When rangers attempted to stop the vehicle on Little River Road, west of Sugarlands Visitor Center, the subject fled westbound. The subject continued to elude rangers and exited the park at the Townsend Wye. Once outside the park, rangers turned over the pursuit to Blount County Sheriff’s Office deputies who eventually took the subject into custody when the pick-up truck crashed.
Townsend Police Department also provided assistance during the incident.
Rangers and special agents have confirmed the theft of property from a visitor’s Ford Explorer parked at Chimney Tops Trailhead. The investigation of offenses occurring within the park continues and federal charges are anticipated.
– NPS
