Search continues for man who led police on car chase in Marion County

UPDATE: The search continues for a man who led police on a car chase through Marion County early Monday morning.

Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnette said the suspect and a companion who is already in custody allegedly attempted to break into Andy's Market in South Pittsburgh last night. A preliminary investigation yielded a suspect vehicle description which was given to authorities in the area.

Burnette said a Whitwell officer spotted a car matching the description around 4 a.m. and tried to stop it, but the suspects sped off until they hit a dead end road and crashed. One of the suspects was apprehended quickly, but the other is still at large and authorities believe he has fled the area.

"We don't think he's in the area - he's probably gotten himself out of there by now," Burnette said.

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ORIGINAL STORY: Marion County schools have been placed on lockdown while authorities search for an armed robbery suspect thought to be on the loose in the area.

School Superintendent Mark Griffith said he was informed that two suspects led authorities on a chase through Marion County after an unknown robbery and crashed their car about a mile from the county's three area schools.

Griffith said one suspect was apprehended, but another fled the scene and the schools were put on lockdown as a precaution. He said the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Marion County Sheriff's Department are on scene, working to locate the remaining suspect.

"We're not going off lockdown until law enforcement lets us know that he has either been apprehended or left the area," he said.

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