Update: The suspect is in custody.

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EARLIER:

Lebanon — The city’s police chief says a suspect is in custody related to an attempted robbery, car chase and manhunt that led police through several Upper Valley towns Wednesday evening and continued through this morning.

Chief Richard Mello confirmed the suspect is in custody in an email Valley News this afternoon. The suspect has not been identified. 

Police allege the man attempted to rob the Family Dollar store on Route 4 in Enfield about 7:30 Thursday night.

Enfield Police Chief Richard Crate said the white male with dark hair first led police east to Grafton and Danbury before turning around and heading west toward Lebanon.

He allegedly took back roads, avoiding spike strips police had set up along Route 4 to catch him.

Around 9:40 p.m., the male ditched the stolen car he was driving on LaPlante Road in Lebanon near the middle school and took off on foot, Crate said in an interview with the Valley News.

That was the last time police saw him.

The man may or may not be armed. The cashier at the Family Dollar told police the man demanded money and said he “didn’t want to have to shoot her.” The clerk said she saw what she thought was a firearm in the man’s pocket, but he did not brandish a weapon, according to Crate.

The clerk didn’t hand over any money to the man, who was wearing a surgical mask when he came into the store, so the he left.

He then allegedly drove about 9 miles east to the Dollar General in Canaan, where passerby called police and reported a suspicious person in a black car in that store’s parking lot. When police arrived to confront him, he led them on a chase toward Grafton. 

Crate said he almost hit Danbury Police Chief David Suckling head-on at a high rate of speed before turning around and heading west. State Police joined several Upper Valley agenices in the chase and search for the man, which went into the early morning hours of Thursday in Lebanon. Canines and a police helicopter also aided in the search.

The U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force has since been called in to assist.

The black Honda Civic the man was driving was stolen out of Worcester, Mass., and is currently impounded at the Lebanon Police Department, while officers obtain a search warrant. Police are actively following up on leads, Crate said.

Crate urged residents to keep their doors locked, as well as their vehicles.

“What we are worried about now is this person may try and steal another vehicle to flee the area,” Crate said. “That is not uncommon in these cases.”

If anyone has information about the man’s whereabouts or if they see something suspicious in their neighborhood, they should call Enfield or Lebanon police.

Posted at 11:35 a.m. Updated at 4:10 p.m. This story will be updated.