Local News

Police: Robbery suspect drives into Vermont lake, tries to swim away

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) — Authorities say a man on the run from police in Vermont drove into a lake in an attempt to escape.

WCAX-TV reports police encountered 38-year-old Stephen Salyer, of Enosburgh, while searching for a suspect in an armed robbery of a local gas station on Saturday.

The store clerk saw the robber was wearing an ankle monitor, and police traced it to a car traveling through Berkshire.

Police say Salyer led officers on a 20-mile (32-kilometer) chase into St. Albans, where he drove onto a dock and into Lake Champlain. They say Salyer got out of the car and tried to swim away before officers caught him on an adjacent dock.

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Police pulled the car from the lake.

Salyer faces several charges. He’s hospitalized for treatment of injuries and can’t be reached for comment. It’s unknown if he has an attorney.