CUMMING - A Dawsonville man is in the Forsyth County jail and another man is still on the loose following a chase that involved two northeast Georgia sheriff's offices early Wednesday morning.
Ryan Keith Whitt, 35, of Dawsonville was taken into custody after a brief chase that began in Forsyth County and ended at Keith Bridge Park in Hall County.
The incident began at around 1:55 a.m. as Forsyth narcotics units were executing a search warrant at a Shady Grove Road address in Forsyth County. While investigating, a car with its lights out drove into the driveway, saw the activity, and then backed out and took off. Deputies tried to question Whitt, who didn't stop, and the pursuit began.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton said they nearly had Whitt early on when spike strips on Shady Grove Road were put down.
"He avoided them by driving through a yard and going around them," Paxton said.
Paxton said Whitt then headed east on Georgia 369 toward Gainesville and the chase reached upwards of 75 mph into Hall County. Whitt then turned into Keith Bridge Park in Hall County.
After driving around for several minutes, Whitt's car eventually left the roadway and deputies surrounded the vehicle. One male passenger, however, fled on foot before deputies got to the vehicle.
Whitt and an unidentified female passenger were then taken into custody.
Paxton said dogs were brought in to try and locate the third man, along with something they think he dropped out of the car.
"During the chase officers say they witnessed a male passenger throw out some sort of bag on Shady Grove Road but attempts to locate it failed," Paxton said. "We had a canine unit on the scene but they also could not locate the man."
Whitt was charged with eluding an officer, failure to maintain lane, driving too fast for conditions, and several other traffic offenses, Paxton said. Whitt was not charged with any drug offenses at this time.
The female passenger was not charged. The third man is still at large, Paxton said.
Sunday
March 30th, 2025
9:08PM
