WESTPORT, Conn. UPDATED, 4:46 p.m.: Suspected murderer Thomas Gardner, of New Bedford, Mass., has been taken into custody following an almost five-hour manhunt in Westport, Deputy Police Chief Foti Koskinas confirmed.
Gardner, 35, is suspected of killing the owner of the stolen car he fled from police in earlier Wednesday. The owner of the car was found dead in New Bedford, Mass., police said earlier.
UPDATED 4:30 p.m. The search for a fugitive wanted for murder in New Bedford, Mass., has stretched from the East Norwalk/Westport border to Westport/Southport border, police said Wednesday afternoon.
Weve had two reported sighting one toward the East Norwalk/Westport line and one toward the Fairfield/Southport line, Westport Deputy Police Chief Foti Koskinas said. Neither of those sighting has been confirmed.
The fugitive, Thomas Gardner of New Bedford, Mass., led police on a high-speed chase from Fairfield through Westport late Wednesday morning before fleeing on foot behind the Westport Country Playhouse.
The chase started on I-95 in Fairfield late Wednesday morning as Fairfield police pursued a stolen car out of Massachusetts. Westport police joined the chase and followed the suspect's vehicle as it got off at Exit 18.
Westport Police Chief Dale Call said Gardner, 35, is wanted in connection with the death of the owner of the stolen vehicle he was operating. The cause of the car owners death is not yet known.
Gardner is described as a slim white male, about 5-foot-8, with light facial hair, wearing a dark jacket or shirt and light blue jeans. Residents are urged to call police if they see someone matching this description and not to approach him.
Police said Gardner is not believed to be armed, but that has not been confirmed.
Weve got information coming in from so many places that were trying to confirm, said Call.
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