UPDATE 2:50 P.M.
THE SUSPECTS HAVE BEEN LOCATED. THE MALE SUSPECT IS FROM CRAWFORD COUNTY; NO WORD ON THEIR CONDITION YET. WATCH FOR UPDATES.
Below is the original post.
LAWRENCE/JASPER COs., Ill. - A search was underway this afternoon in Lawrence County at this hour to locate two people wanted in an alleged robbery out in the county.
According to those at the scene, a little earlier this afternoon (around 12 p.m.) a male and a female went on what's being called an alleged "robbing spree" in which they apparently accessed some rural homes (in the Rafetown area of Jasper County) and fled across the county line to Lawrence.
About a mile south of the neighborhood of Chauncey, they were reportedly being pursued by those whose property they'd allegedly stolen.
The two went into "a swampy area" (likely the river bottoms south of the Chauncey Marsh Nature Preserve) and got lost, the area being in the CR 1700 North vicinity.
At about a quarter after 12, local authorities had requested a K9 unit from the Illinois State Police to help track the two.
They also have deployed an airplane at some point, which has apparently been doing a wide search, as we can hear it from where we sit in Richland County.
Supposedly, those in the area - including the victims of the alleged robberies - were keeping an eye out for the two suspects in the wooded area, where someone could be heard calling out, claiming one of the two suspects is "having chest pains." An ambulance was called to the scene, and naturally, every cop in Lawrence County is on-hand to get in on the action.
The concern at this point is what the two have gotten themselves into (the marshy area is very wet this time of year) and combined with the temperatures, hypothermia could set in quickly.
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