Yutan manhunt ends with suspect in custody

YUTAN, Neb. - An intense manhunt west of Omaha kept a community on edge most of Tuesday.

A theft suspect eluded authorities for several hours near Yutan.

A stolen pickup was left running after the suspect ran from a deputy at high speeds.

“An officer went to make contact with the driver the vehicle appeared to be stolen the ignition had been tampered with," said Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

A train blocked Highway 92 to Omaha so the suspect, later identified as Michael White, 48, of Sioux Falls, SD, whipped into the Spires Farmstead.

“And he turned around, gunned it and backed up into one of our fruit trees and he got out and I yelled, ‘get the hell off my land,’” said Ann Spires.

White ran toward a creek and disappeared while deputies police and troopers from five agencies searched for him. A Nebraska State Patrol plane with a heat detector guided a K-9 toward a hotspot but only to find deer.

After three hours of combing several square miles, the search was called off. Then a call came in from almost right in the middle of it, from the Dollar General store.

White had been inside about 10 minutes when a customer thought he fit the description and alerted a manager who called 911.

“I was out there at that little creek. That’s why my shoes are all muddy and my feet are completely soaking wet. I’m cold and I’m hungry. My blood sugar is low,” White said.

When asked why he ran from authorities, White said, “Because I don’t want to go back to prison.”

Though eluding a major manhunt for three hours his wet and dirty trousers show he couldn’t escape the cold or hunger. A Snickers bar taken from the store dropped from his pocket.

“May I please have that Snickers, sir?” White asked a deputy, who replied, “You didn’t buy it so why would I let you have a candy bar you didn’t buy."

White faces charges including theft of the pickup which was reported stolen out of Omaha Oct. 23, flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving and resisting arrest.