A Wisconsin man allegedly led police on a wrong-way highway chase while driving a car linked to a missing person case — and the missing person could have been the body discovered in the car.
Gavin Thompson, 23, is currently held at the Lancaster County Jail in Nebraska. Thompson was arrested after allegedly crossing state lines in a car registered to 67-year-old Dorinda Segebrecht, who was reported missing in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, on Monday.
According to the Nebraska State Patrol, the neighboring Iowa County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin alerted the agency that Segebrecht’s black Hyundai Kona may have been traveling westbound in Nebraska.
When state troopers found the car at around 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday, the driver did not match the description of the owner. Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver, later identified as Thompson, a Dodgeville resident, apparently fled instead.
According to the Nebraska State Patrol, Thompson attempted to flee police by exiting Interstate 80.
After fleeing, he returned to the interstate’s eastbound lane and drove in the wrong direction through a construction zone, according to officials.
Afterwards, Thompson “failed to navigate the lane shift, drove into the median, and crashed into a creek.” He fled on foot, and officers approached the car. According to authorities, a woman matching Segebrecht’s description was found dead in the back seat.
While Nebraska officials have not officially confirmed the identity of the body, they did say, “It was clear that the woman had died before the crash.”
State troopers summoned multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the SWAT team. Using “police service dogs, drones, and the NSP helicopter,” a deputy with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office located Thompson about 4 miles from the crash site. He was arrested without incident.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Iowa County Sheriff Michael Peterson and Dodgeville Police Department Police Chief Brandon Wilhelm confirmed that Thompson and Segebrecht had no known relationship. Wilhelm described the alleged crime as a “random act of violence.”
Peterson said: “We’ve lost a beloved member of our county under tragic and senseless circumstances.”
Thompson is currently being held without bond in Nebraska’s Lancaster County Jail after being charged with reckless driving and evading arrest. He is expected to be extradited to Wisconsin’s Iowa County.
