Man submerges motorcycle and swims away

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office seeks the public’s help to  identify a subject who led deputies on a pursuit Tuesday night.

 

The subject was operating a motorcycle that matched the body style of a motorcycle reported stolen Monday morning in the Timberlake One Circle area of Oconee County, which is located near Townville.  The deputy observed the driver of the motorcycle turn right on Timberlake One Circle around 2:44am this morning.

 

The deputy turned around and observed the taillights of the motorcycle.  The deputy then attempted to initiate a traffic stop and then observed the driver turn the motorcycle toward the Timberlake Boat Ramp.

 

After attempting to stop, the deputy observed the driver accelerate the motorcycle, driving down the boat ramp and into the water.

 

The deputy yelled to the driver to swim back to him but the driver continued to swim away from the deputy towards the other shore.  Additional deputies arrived on scene and efforts were made to locate the driver in the water with spotlights, however, the driver of the motorcycle was not located.

 

Public safety agency boats and divers were called to the scene to assist with the search for the driver; however, the driver of the motorcycle has not been located at this time.  Deputies did recover a black helmet that the driver threw off as well as a black and white Air Jordan High Top shoe that was recovered on shore.