An Oxford Village resident’s attempt to sell a recreational vehicle via an online classified ad ended with police chasing three suspects who allegedly stole it on Jan. 23.

Two of the suspects, a 25-year-old Redford man and a 29-year-old Detroit man, were apprehended, lodged at the Oakland County Jail, then released pending further investigation, according to village Police Sgt. Clint Ascroft. The third man got away, but was identified by the vehicle’s owner and Ascroft said an arrest warrant would be sought.

The victim, a 47-year-old man who lives on Melvin J Court, had advertised his 2017 Yamaha four-wheeler on Craigslist.

A man calling himself “Mike” responded to the ad and agreed to meet the owner at his home. When he arrived, Mike  asked to test the four-wheeler in the driveway. After the owner agreed, Mike got on and allegedly took off. He traveled down Melvin J Court, got on Lakeville Rd. and kept going until the owner lost sight of him, according to the village police report.

Meanwhile, the truck that Mike had arrived in “immediately sped off in chase behind him,” the owner wrote in his statement to police.

The owner got in his vehicle and went after both. He ended up following them as they headed north on M-24 into the township.

According to the report, the four-wheeler was subsequently loaded into a U-Haul trailer pulled by a 2018 Cadillac Escalade containing the three suspects.

The Escalade was observed on Metamora Rd., east of M-24. Using his patrol vehicle, an Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to block the Escalade’s path. Seeing this, the driver  stopped and put the Escalade in reverse, jackknifing the trailer.

When the deputy began moving toward it, the Escalade “accelerated” toward him, “then (drove) off the roadway and around” his vehicle, the sheriff’s report stated.

“The Escalade almost hit the deputy’s patrol vehicle,” wrote a village officer.

Village officers arriving on scene saw this happen and chased the Escalade as it crossed M-24, picked up Metamora Rd. again on the west side and headed south.

The deputy who had attempted to block the Escalade got in his vehicle and headed south to where Metamora Rd. intersects M-24 near Dunlap Rd.

Seeing the sheriff’s vehicle near that intersection, the Escalade “abruptly” turned into the entrance for the American Aggregates property and crashed into some fencing, the reports stated.

Following the crash, the deputy observed the three suspects exit the vehicle and flee on foot into the surrounding woods. Deputies and village officers pursued them. Several minutes later, one of the deputies located the three suspects, who were allegedly attempting to hide. Two of the suspects complied with the deputy’s commands, while the third fled again, according to the reports.

An extensive search of the area, which included the use of sheriff’s K9 units and the Oxford Fire Department’s drone, failed to locate the suspect.