Early on Wednesday morning, at 6:51 am, Alaska State Troopers received a call of a suspicious vehicle on Kaye Lake Road in Wasilla.

When troopers responded to the area, they contacted a man in a gold 2007 Ford Focus. They identified the man as 31-year-old Wasilla resident Dylan Tuel. Further investigation at the scene found that Tuel was in possession of drug paraphernalia. Looking into Tuel even further, troopers would discover that Tuel also waas on probation for Theft in the Second Degree.

It was at this point in the contact, Tuel decided it wasn’t in his best interests to go to jail, and grabbed his drug paraphrenalia and made a break for it. Tuel fled into the woods in an effort to evade prosecution.

Several additional troopers responded to the scene and set up a perimeter around the woods. Additionally, a Wasilla Police officer responded to the area with K-9 “Marshal.” “Marshal” and his keeper, Officer Ridge began tracking Tuel through the woods. The tracking operation lasted 45 minutes, at which time Officer Ridge and K-9 “Marshal” located Tuel hiding near a swamp. According to troopers, Tuel was “cold, wet, and exhausted.”

Tuel was subsequently arrested and charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence and Probation violation and transported to the Mat-Su Pre-trial Facility and remanded there with no bail set.

Tuel’s vehicle was impounded.