The pursuit of Westlake ends with the arrest of two men and the discovery of a missing teenager

WESTLAKE, Ohio. A police chase last week ended with two people in custody and a missing girl returned home.

It all started around 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 15, when North Olmsted police notified nearby services of 35-year-old Jeffrey A. Desler running from officers who were trying to serve him with a probate order. In the early morning hours of Oct. 16, Westlake police were alerted when a license plate reader spotted Desler’s vehicle.

“At about 2:00 a.m., we got a call that he was driving down Crocker Road,” Westlake Police Capt. Gerald Vogel said.

According to Vogel, the man ran away again.

“They got into the back of his car and he started running from them across Croker Park and down Croker Road. We chased him, lights and sirens, trying to catch him,” Vogel said.

Law enforcement officers followed the truck until they lost sight of it. Soon after, they discovered an empty and abandoned car in the middle of the road with the doors open.

“We found an AR-15 type rifle in the car as well as another handgun,” Vogel said. The gun, which authorities say was allegedly stolen from Desler’s father’s home.

Police officers reported that a 35-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were also found near the pickup truck. They told police that Desler gave them a ride from downtown Cleveland, but when they got to Westlake, he wouldn’t let them out of the car, saying Desler held them at gunpoint while he drove around.

Police said they later learned other agencies were looking for the man and the girl.

“One of the passengers of the car was a 16-year-old girl who was actually considered missing. So she was in danger of disappearing. The man she was with was a 36-year-old man who had a warrant for his arrest for a probation violation,” Vogel said.

Several agencies searched for Dessler on foot and by drone. They later found him hiding nearby with a gun in his waistband.

Vogel said he’s never seen anything like it, but he’s thankful for the license plate readers and the proactive team.

“Using technology alongside traditional police work really works wonders, and I think we’re doing a good job of that,” Vogel said.

A 16-year-old girl who went missing from University Heights has been safely returned to her parents, Vogel said. A 35-year-old man was taken into custody on outstanding warrants from the Ohio Office of Adult Parole for previous convictions for sex crimes with minors.

Desler is now facing multiple charges, including kidnapping, child endangerment and fleeing from police.