Thief River Falls fugitive still on the loose: Klade last seen in Steele, Traill counties

FINLEY, N.D. - The hunt continues for a fugitive who was last seen running into a cornfield near here, though law enforcement officials say he may have later escaped in a stolen car.

Dylan Klade, 21, Thief River Falls, has been on the run since 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Traill County officials say the car he's accused of stealing was last seen about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday near Clifford, N.D., about 30 miles by road from Finley. It reportedly had just half a tank of gas.

Klade was with another man, Corey Roper, 22, a Level 3 registered sex offender from Thief River Falls. Roper surrendered to Tuesday after a few hours in the cornfield.

Stolen vehicles

Law enforcement officials say the manhunt began after they checked on a recreational vehicle parked on North Dakota Highway 200 and discovered it was stolen from the Thief River Falls area.

A short time later, officers spotted two men walking down Steele County Road 10. When officers approached, they took off running and ended in a cornfield. The manhunt went on until late at night.

The next morning, a homeowner reported his car had been stolen from a farmstead near Portland, down the road from Finley. Left at the farmstead was a lawnmower believed stolen from an unoccupied farmstead.

Not dangerous

Klade is described as being 5-foot-11-inches and 150 pounds with short black hair. He was last seen wearing a white tank top, blue jeans and no shoes, law enforcement officials said.

Klade is not believed to be dangerous or have a weapon.

According to Minnesota court documents, Klade was sentenced Aug. 12 in Polk County to 90 days for misdemeanor marijuana convictions to be served on work release. He has a string of previous charges going back to 2009 in northwest Minnesota involving mostly drug and driving violations.

The missing car is a four-door 2006 red Pontiac G6 with license plate JKB-184.

"We have no indication of where he might be going. We just ask the public to be alert if they see this vehicle with that license plate number to give their local law enforcement a call," said Traill County Sheriff's Deputy Conrad Steinhaus.

To contact the sheriff's department, call (701) 636-4510.

Forum News Service staff writer Stephen J. Lee contributed to this report.

Source: Grandforksherald