Search for Assault Suspect Leads to Active Meth Lab + VIDEO

A man accused of assaulting a woman at a home outside the Sullivan city limits Friday evening was arrested Saturday morning after he returned to scene and committed a second assault.

After the second incident, law enforcement launched a manhunt that resulted in the arrest of another man in an unrelated meth lab case, authorities said.

The 30-year-old assault suspect, who was not identified because he has not been charged, assaulted the woman at a home in the 200 block of Highway 185 Friday night then fled on foot when deputies responded to the call. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, the sheriff's office said.

Then at 10:51 a.m. Saturday, the man returned to the home, was involved in a second assault and again fled when deputies responded.

Officers with the sheriff's office, Sullivan police and Missouri Highway Patrol began a ground search which ended when a deputy spotted the suspect near the Missouri Department of Conservation office on Highway 185. He was arrested a short distance away.

The suspect is said to live in the St. Louis and Sullivan areas.

Updated Information:

A woman who said she was a witness to the incident told The Missourian Monday morning that several people in the neighborhood where the incident occurred, kept the suspect in sight when they learned what was transpiring.

Two people said they saw the man hiding under a mobile home and one chased him. Several people then chased the suspect until he was caught by police, the witness told The Missourian.

 Sheriff Gary Toelke said law officers received several reports from people who sighted the suspect running in the neighborhood.

Meth Lab Found

During the search for that suspect, the sheriff's department's air unit observed an ATV being ridden by two men in the area. When they saw law enforcement, one fled on foot and the other on the ATV.

The pilot tracked the ATV until the driver could be taken into custody.

Officers went to the spot where the ATV was first sighted and found an active meth lab, the sheriff's office said.

Police are searching for the suspect who fled on foot. The ATV driver, a 36-year-old Sullivan area man, was arrested for investigation of narcotics violations, according to the report.