Talbot County Sheriff warning public to stay inside after suspects flee crime investigation
TALBOT COUNTY, Md – UPDATE: On Saturday, March 23, 2024 at about 4 a.m., deputies were dispatched to the area of Howell Point Road near Hunter Lane in Trappe, Maryland for citizen reports of multiple gunshots in the area.
Deputies and members of the Maryland State Police arrived in the area and found a lone subject walking on Howell Point Road.
As the deputies and troopers spoke with the individual, a dark-colored vehicle approached the area and stopped.
A deputy engaged the vehicle’s operator and ordered the occupants to show their hands.
The vehicle’s operator put the vehicle in reverse and attempted to flee the area but drove into a ditch. Four individuals exited the vehicle and fled into the woods.
Initial investigation revealed the individual that deputies contacted walking on the road was the victim of a crime involving the subjects that fled from deputies.
The individual reported being forced into the vehicle in an apparent armed robbery attempt.
The sheriff’s office believes this was not a random encounter and the victim was targeted by the assailants.
The investigation is still ongoing to determine what happened.
Deputies have been in the area attempting to locate the four individuals who fled from the vehicle.
Exhaustive searches have been conducted by search teams and K-9 units in the area to locate the individuals however the sheriff’s office is confident, based on information developed through the investigation, that the individuals are no longer in the area.
Deputies and search teams remain on scene attempting to locate evidence in the area. Patrol will remain in the area throughout the day and into the evening.
The Talbot County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted by the Maryland State Police, Natural Resources Police, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, and Cambridge Police Department.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Talbot County Sheriff’s deputies, police officers from the Easton Police Department, Department Of Natural Resources Officers, and State Troopers have been in the Howell Point Road area searching for subjects who fled into the woods early this morning after being confronted by a deputy investigating a crime in the area.
An area-wide alert went out to residents to shelter in place for those in the Howell Point area a few miles from Trappe.
The suspects were last seen on foot.
Police are urging the public to report any suspicious persons by calling 911, and warn the suspects should be considered dangerous.
Police are warning the public to not answer your door in that area unless it is a uniformed police officer or someone you know.
