PARK RAPIDS, Minn. -- A two-day manhunt finally turned up a Park Rapids man considered dangerous and possibly armed in northern Wadena County who had apparently been hiding in a deer stand.
Hubbard County's canine Oakley was instrumental in the capture.
Numerous officers in Hubbard and Wadena counties set up a perimeter to catch Nathan Allen Moorhouse, 33, of Park Rapids, last Thursday.
"A landowner was checking his deer stands on his property when he found Moorhouse hiding," Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes said. "He attempted to call law enforcement when Moorhouse climbed down and began to fight with the landowner in an effort to keep him from calling. The call was eventually made."
Sgt. Dan Kruchowski and Oakley, who had lost sight of Moorhouse Wednesday night, were instrumental in the Thursday capture, Aukes said.
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"Oakley pushed him out to a road where one of the officers on the perimeter of the containment area apprehended him," Aukes said.
Moorhouse fled after being stopped late Wednesday near Menahga. According to information released by the Wadena County Sheriff's Office, at 11:41 p.m., a deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle in the Menahga area. The suspect refused to stop and a pursuit ensued.
Moorhouse was last seen on Thursday at approximately 10:30 a.m. in the area of Stocking Lake Road, a short distance west of Wadena County Road 23. That was the general area where officers set up the new perimeter Thursday night. Authorities wanted to bring in a helicopter Thursday but foggy conditions hampered that idea.
"We've been chasing this guy for two days," a deputy radioed his fellow officers Thursday night.
Moorhouse is considered to be a career criminal with more than a dozen convictions on his record going back 15 years. He has been convicted in theft, drug, burglary and assault incidents, but has generally been law-abiding since 2010. He was convicted then of felony assault with a dangerous weapon causing substantial bodily harm, according to Hubbard County Court records.
He is currently in the Wadena County jail and is also being held on numerous Hubbard County warrants, Aukes said.
