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DUI Suspect Jumps Into Corte Madera Creek To Evade Police

ROSS (CBS SF) -- Rescuers have resumed a search for a man who jumped into a Marin County creek after being pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence early Monday morning.

Police stopped the man's car in the area of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and College Avenue, near the College of Marin, at about 12:30 a.m., Ross police Chief Erik Masterson said.

The man was asked to get out of his car, at which point he fled from officers, heading toward the Corte Madera Creek, Masterson said.

The suspect ran under the roadway, climbed over a fence, and jumped into the creek.

The creek flows through a cement culvert at that point, and officers followed the man and encouraged him to grab onto the metal bars that were on the side of the culvert.

However, he did not attempt to grab the bars, and instead swam away from officers, Masterson said. Police lost sight of the suspect when he went underwater.

Several agencies joined in the search for him, using a swift-water rescue boat to track the man down, but he was not found, Masterson said.

The agencies included the Marin County Sheriff's Office, police from Twin Cities, Fairfax, Ross and the College of Marin, and firefighters from Southern Marin, Kentfield, Ross Valley and the county.

The initial search was called off at about 4:45 a.m.

At about 8:30 a.m. today, the Marin County sheriff's search-and-rescue team resumed the search downstream from where he was last seen, Ross police Officer Guy Crow said. Ross police are assisting in the search.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)

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