Kootenai man escapes arrest

COCOLALLA — Authorities in Bonner County spent several hours Friday hunting for a Kootenai man who escaped while being arrested by Idaho State Police on U.S. Highway 95.

Daniel James Springsteel was involved in a traffic stop when he fled on foot shortly after 1 p.m., state police said in a news release. The traffic stop occurred at the southern end of Cocolalla Flats.

Springsteel was reportedly wearing handcuffs when he made his escape, according to radio communications between Bonner Dispatch and law officers who were summoned to the area in an attempt to find him. Deputies and police searched areas on the east and western sides of the highway from Huckleberry Mountain Road to Old Highway 95 Road near the southern end of Cocolalla Lake. A K-9 officer was used in the search.

Bonner County Sheriff’s officials sent out a Nixle alert shortly after 2 p.m. advising residents to avoid the area and to remain inside with doors and windows locked. The search for Springsteel was scaled back about two hours later, according to the Nixle alerts.

State police said Springsteel remained at large and that the search was ongoing. Troopers advised the public not to make contact with Springsteel if they encounter him and to call 911.

A description of Springsteel was not released on Friday.

Springsteel, who is either 32 or 33 years old, is wanted on warrants in misdemeanor cases in Bonner and Kootenai counties, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository. A bench warrant was issued for him in Bonner County last year after he failed to appear at an arraignment hearing on charges of possession of an invalid driver’s license and inattentive or careless driving. A similar warrant was issued in Kootenai County for failing to answer to a charge of driving without privileges.

Springsteel has prior misdemeanor and felony theft convictions in Bonner County. He was charged with sexual battery of a minor in 2007, but pleaded guilty to an amended charge of aggravated assault, the repository indicates.

Springsteel, the repository states, has been convicted of resisting and obstructing law officers on four occasions in Bonner County between 2003 and 2011.

The search for Springsteel is the third manhunt in Bonner County this month.

The first involved the search for the killer of Shirley Ramey, who was found shot to death at her Trestle Creek home on April 5. The search for her killer is also ongoing. The second manhunt occurred last weekend, when a Spokane man was sought in connection with a nearly fatal stabbing in Laclede. Shawn Montgomery Harp was apprehended and is facing attempted first-degree murder charges in connection with the stabbing.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and find him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.