Suspect in custody after stealing PF&R fire boat, leading authorities on chase down Columbia River

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Authorities have taken a suspect into custody after they reportedly stole a Portland Fire & Rescue fire boat early Thursday morning.

PF&R confirms that Rescue Boat 21 was stolen from the fire station at Southeast Madison Street, near the Hawthorne Bridge. Law enforcement and the Coast Guard pursued the fire boat along the Willamette River to the Columbia River.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says the Coast Guard caught up to the boat in the river and took the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Dustin Jay Knutson, into custody on the boat.

Knutson was turned over to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. Knutson was booked into the Columbia County Jail for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, second-degree trespass, and first-degree criminal mischief.

The Coast Guard will tow the boat to the port in Kalama. PF&R will pick up the boat there.

The fire boat only received minimum significant propeller damage.

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