Perilous pie pursuit?

Ozark County Deputy Seth Miller was conducting his regular patrol on Highway 160 in Theodosia around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, when he activated his lights and sirens as part of a routine traffic stop of a red Jeep Cherokee. 

After exiting his patrol vehicle and approaching the Jeep, Miller asked the driver for his license and vehicle registration. After checking, Miller notified the driver, Noel Cole of Theodosia, that he was under arrest for an active felony warrant out of Douglas County. 

In response, Cole attempted to drive away from the officer. Miller deployed his taser, and the barbs made contact with Cole; however, the Jeep’s door eventually interfered and caused the cords to pull free from the suspect.

Cole fled in the Jeep eastbound on Highway 160 with Miller in pursuit in his patrol truck. Cole turned down County Road 603, known locally as Locust Road, and Miller followed with assistance from a Missouri Department of Conservation agent. The chase continued down the county road until Cole turned around and headed back toward Highway 160.

At some point on the return to the highway, Cole ditched the vehicle and, while clutching something in his hand, fled on foot into a wooded area. Miller couldn’t identify what the item was, the sheriff’s report says.

After a brief pursuit, Miller overtook Cole and apprehended him, placing him in handcuffs.

The item Cole had grabbed in the Jeep and clung to during the chase? A frozen Marie Callender’s Chocolate Satin Pie.

Miller said the pie was still cold and unopened. Officers checked the pie for illegal substances but found none. 

Miller says those types of pies are really good, and he believes Cole just didn’t want to part with the dessert. 

“You’d run with it too,” he told the Times Monday, laughing. “They’re fantastic!”

The vehicle – and the pie – were towed from the scene; Cole was transported to the Ozark County Jail and later released into the custody of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.

He remains in custody there on a $1,500 cash-only bond in a case where he’s charged with leaving the scene of an accident in Douglas County with property damage exceeding $1,000, a class E felony. Details on his next court hearing were not available at press time Tuesday morning. 

In Ozark County, Cole is currently charged in an unrelated case with a class A misdemeanor of stalking. He’s scheduled to appear before Associate Judge Raymond Gross on Oct. 26 in that case. 

As for Miller, his mom, Paula Coatney, made sure he went home happy. She bought him his own Marie Callendar’s Chocolate Satin Pie to enjoy.