A search by a police dog and an overflying helicopter of Snoqualmie Ridge for a would-be carjacker was unsuccessful on Wednesday, March 12.

According to police reports, at about 8:30 p.m. that evening, Snoqualmie officers responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery on a job site on Center Boulevard Southeast.

The victim, a 47-year-old Tacoma man, had driven a fuel truck to the Ridge and was refueling construction vehicles when he heard what he believed to be a shotgun being cocked and a man telling him that his truck was being taken, and to run or be shot. The man never saw a firearm, but ran away toward Snoqualmie Parkway, hearing footsteps behind him. He looked back to see a tall man running after him. The driver kept running, lost his pursuer, and stopped to dial 911.

The police response to the Ridge included Snoqualmie and Issaquah Police, a Redmond K-9 unit, the Washington State Patrol, and the King County Guardian One helicopter, which had already flown a mission that evening and was available to assist in the search.

However, searchers could not find the suspect, and after over an hour, the search was called off.

The apparent truck thief never got what he came for. When police arrived, the victim’s truck was still at the job site, and nothing in it was stolen or disturbed.

During the search, concerned residents were advised to stay in their homes.

The only description the truck driver was able to give of his pursuer was that he was a “tall man.”

After the ordeal, the truck driver was “a little shaken,” Snoqualmie Police spokeswoman Becky Munson said.