Upshur County Sheriff gives details following multi-county police chase

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Upshur County Sheriff Mike Coffman has provided details to 12 News regarding a 38-mile multi-county police chase Tuesday afternoon that ended with a suspect being arrested in Harrison County.

Sheriff Coffman told 12 News that just after 3 p.m., law enforcement officers attempted to perform a traffic stop on a blue Mazda sedan on West Virginia Route 20, near Hodgesville. Coffman said the sedan then took off at a high rate of speed, leading law enforcement on a chase that at times exceeded 100 mph.

The sedan eventually found its way onto Interstate 79, where it began traveling north. Coffman said spike strips were successfully deployed on the vehicle in Lewis County, which struck the front-end wheel of the vehicle.

Coffman said the vehicle then left the interstate and went into Stonewood, where the suspect got out and ran into the woods. Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies began a manhunt with K9 units and eventually located the suspect at about 5 p.m. and identified him as Zachary Michael Shook, of Mt. Clare.

As of Tuesday evening, Shook does not appear in the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation database. Coffman told 12 News that Shook was already out on bond in Harrison County, and he believes the charges are drug related.

Law enforcement officers from the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Buckhannon Police Department, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, West Virginia State Police, Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Anmoore Police Department, Bridgeport Police Department, Clarksburg Police Department, Nutter Fort Police Department, Shinnston Police Department, Stonewood Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration all assisted in this incident.

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