Man Missing After Leading Police On Chase, Crashing Car In Kittanning
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KITTANNING (KDKA) -- A man who tried to outrun police in Kittanning last week ended up crashing his car, but when police caught up to the crash site, he was nowhere to be found.
Since the early morning hours of Dec. 3, 40-year-old John Harrison has been a missing person.
He was being pursued by police in Kittanning because his headlights were off. When his 2000 Dodge Dakota truck crashed, he jumped out and fled seconds before police arrived at the crash site.
Why he fled and refused to stop remains a mystery, and the valuables he left behind deepened the mystery of his disappearance.
"He left his wallet, his phone, his coat, his gloves and hat," Whisper Harrison, John's sister, said. "Like, he had no warm winter coat, and it was 30 degrees that night. He left the keys in the truck. That would have been the keys to his home."
Moments before the crash, one of the front tires on Harrison's truck blew out when he struck a guard rail, and he was speeding from pursuing police on the rim of his wheel.
Police said besides being a missing person, Harrison is considered a fugitive from justice because of his refusing to stop for police.
"Very strange, very disturbing," Whisper said. "It's a horrible feeling in your gut. You don't want to think anything terrible, but at the same time, what are you left to think, a week later?"
"We don't know what his mindset was when the officer first came upon him that night, but he elected to flee, and we're trying to put the pieces together to figure out why [he fled]," Kittanning Borough Police Chief Bruce Matthews said.
Matthews said police were asking the public to call authorities if they saw Harrison or if they know something about his whereabouts.