A wild chase that began with the theft of a Vancouver fire truck ended in an arrest near Albany, Oregon. Alex Joseph Doupe, 34, was taken into custody on charges of vehicle theft and trespassing after being tracked down in an empty house. Authorities said Doupe pilfered the Squad 1 Dodge 5500 truck while first responders were busy treating a patient on Monday night.
The Vancouver Police Department quickly responded to the incident, which occurred around 10:30 p.m. at West Mill Plain Boulevard and Kauffman Avenue. Despite an "extensive search" alongside the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the missing truck was to only be found in the early hours of Tuesday. It was a freeway camera that caught the stolen vehicle crossing over into Oregon, with the Washington State Patrol alerting local law enforcement five minutes after the truck had reportedly been swiped, KOIN reported.
The manhunt concluded at 5 a.m. when the Linn County Sheriff’s Office discovered the fire truck unattended in Albany, as detailed in a news release by The Columbian. The truck was found roughly 80 miles south of its starting point in Vancouver. Subsequently, Doupe was located inside a nearby house that was not his own and promptly arrested.
Beyond the immediate charges of Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle, Doupe faces additional legal challenges. He was already wanted in Washington County on different allegations, including harassment and disorderly conduct from a prior case in 2021. Details about these allegations were provided by FireRescue1, highlighting a trail of misdemeanors accompanying the suspect. The circumstances leading up to the theft and the motive behind Doupe's actions currently remain under investigation by VPD’s Property Crimes Unit.
