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A fugitive from Cherryvale, Kansas was taken into police custody after eluding police and camping in a tree for nearly four hours on Tuesday afternoon.

Jeremiah McKenzie (mugshot pictured below) was wanted on a failure to appear for a possession of a weapon charge out of Montgomery County. He led police on a short chase to Johnstone Park where he left his vehicle and entered the Caney River. Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles told us what happened in a Facebook live video. More on the video interview can be found below.

The vehicle McKenzie was in was reported stolen out of Dodge City, Kansas. A K9 officer chased McKenzie into the Caney River, where he then floated down stream  to a tree. With a waterfall and faster currents awaiting McKenzie under the bridge, he held onto the tree (west of the Highway 123 bridge) tight.

The Bartlesville Fire Department threw McKenzie a life jacket when they met him on the north side bank. They then set-up their rescue boat to get McKenzie out of the water. However, McKenzie was not ready to be taken into custody, so he climbed up the tree.

From there it was a waiting game for everyone involved. McKenzie was in the tree for approximately four hours before coming down peacefully. He was clearly taken into custody after his long stay in the tree hanging over the Caney River.

There were several attempts to talk McKenize out of the tree before he came down. Bartlesville Police Captain Jay Hasting did tell KWON that there was a female passenger in the vehicle McKenzie fled on foot from.

During the four-hours of negotiations, it appeared that the woman tried talking McKenzie down herself. The passenger of the vehicle, Breeaanna Louise Holcomb (pictured below), was also arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

Again, the subject was eventually coerced out of the tree by Bartlesville Fire, Bartlesville Police and Bartlesville EMS personnel who all responded to the scene. Chief Tracy Roles said it was a very long day, but he was pleased with the professionalism that was shown by all parties.

Great restraint was shown. Chief Roles said that restraint mixed with compassion was on display. He added that the fire department did an excellent job in assisting with the situation and putting their lives on the line when it came to getting in the water to talk McKenzie down. Meanwhile, Bartlesville EMS was standing by, staging the area in case their assistance was needed.

It was an effort by all involved that Chief Roles said he was proud of. He said everyone came together to bring McKenzie into custody and bring resolve to a tense situation.

There are a couple misdemeanor charges and felony charges that McKenzie will face now that he is in custody. Chief Roles said those charges will be dealt with in Washington County. He said when he is done with the court process here, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office will place a hold on McKenzie, and he will have to deal with the legal issues he is faced with in Kansas.

McKenzie could be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and eluding police on top of other charges.

While it was a dangerous situation, it took COVID-19 off the minds of many for a little while, making those in the area that were watching know that life does go on outside the necessary quaratine we are all under during this unprecedented time in 2020. Emergency personnel did, however, exercise the proper precautions that were needed to combat the coronavirus as those who took McKenzie into custody wore protective masks.

McKenzie climed up the tree around 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday. He came down around 5:28 that same afternoon.