ASHLAND – State highway patrol officers are searching for a teenager suspected of involuntary manslaughter after he fled on foot following a traffic stop along U.S. 42 in Montgomery Township, officials said in a news release Tuesday morning.
Joseph D. Harbaugh, 19, of Homerville, was a passenger in a car Monday afternoon when an Ashland trooper pulled it over for traveling 76 mph in a 55-mph zone.
The driver, Michael A. Nutter Jr., 40, of Wooster, stayed in the vehicle, described by police as a red 2007 Ford Focus.
Police later learned Nutter has active misdemeanor warrants for his arrest through the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. His driver’s license was also suspended.
Harbaugh, however, ran into the woods.
“Troopers and deputies with the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office searched the area; however, Harbaugh was not located,” the news release said.
The manhunt led law enforcement to a house in Homerville in Medina County. Harbaugh was not there.
Sergeant Ray Santiago of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, who is leading the investigation, declined to comment further. No details were given about the case authorities believe are connected to Harbaugh.
Anyone with information about Harbaugh’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Ashland post at 419-289-0911.
