Monroe Co. deputies seek car thief who may be fugitive from Ohio

Monroe — The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is looking for a man who stole a vehicle in Bedford Township and may be a fugitive from Ohio police.

According to the sheriff's office, Christopher Eldredge is suspected of stealing a blue 2016 Ford Escape Thursday from an industrial park at Sterns and Crabb roads in Bedford Township. The community is about 17 miles south of Monroe and about 55 miles south of Detroit, just north of Toledo's western suburbs.

The vehicle has Michigan license plate #CKU2161 and a University of Michigan football helmet decal in the rear window, officials said.

Deputies were called to the industrial park at about 7 a.m. for a report of a man acting suspiciously in the vestibule of a business. By the time officers arrived, the man had left the location, police said.

As they investigated, they believe the man had broken into the business' break room, changed his clothes and then stole a vehicle in the parking lot.

Officials said they suspect the man is Eldredge, 35, who escaped police custody in Wood County, Ohio, on Saturday. Media reports in Ohio say Eldredge was being held on misdemeanor charges and was being treated in a hospital's emergency room when he escaped. He allegedly stole a vehicle in Bowling Green, Ohio, and fought with a deputy who tried to stop him.

Eldredge is described as 6 feet tall, weighing about 190 pounds with a shaved head. He was last seen wearing a stolen navy blue jacket.

Anyone who sees him should call 911 but are not to approach him or the stolen vehicle, police said.