Items believed to have been used in meth lab discovered in vehicle

Area law enforcement officers discovered items that were believed to have been used in a meth lab during a traffic stop Wednesday in Hillsboro. In a separate incident this week, a suspect fled police and his vehicle struck a cruiser.

According to the Hillsboro Police Department, Wednesday at approximately 3:12 a.m., an officer made traffic stop on a green Ford truck on North East Street.

The vehicle was found to be owned by Chadwick Price, 33, of Hillsboro. 

With assistance from the Highland County Sheriff's Office, Price was given a warning on an equipment violation and at the time was unable to produce valid identification. 

The HPD deployed their K-9 unit, which "gave a positive indication for the odor of narcotics in the vehicle," according to the HPD. "The vehicle was searched, and the ingredients of a used meth lab were found."

Price was not taken into custody, but the HPD said that evidence from the vehicle will be forwarded to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) and the results will be forwarded to the Highland County Prosecutor's Office for possible presentation to a grand jury. 

In a separate incident on Tuesday, an officer with the HPD, "observed a tan Saturn southbound on South Elm Street in the area of West South Street. The Saturn neglected to come to a full stop for the posted stop sign at the intersection."

The officer then attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle on South Elm Street. The vehicle then allegedly, "attempted to elude the officer by driving through alleys that are parallel with West South St. and West Walnut St. The officer had activated the cruiser's emergency lights and siren when he observed the other vehicle back out and try to evade the officer further. The Saturn came to a stop, and the driver ran from the vehicle. As the officer exited his cruiser and attempted to deploy the police K-9 unit, the suspect's vehicle rolled back into the front bumper of the police cruiser. At this time, the suspect is still at large. The cruiser received no damage."