MENDOCINO Co., 9/7/21 — Two SWAT officers, including a K9 handler, were injured Monday during an early-morning suspect search in Albion, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). All available personnel, including off-duty deputies, were summoned to the area after a possible sighting of William Evers at an unoccupied residence in the 32000 block of Navarro Ridge around midnight. Evers, dubbed the Red Bearded Burglar, allegedly fled the area around 4:30 a.m. The suspect is believed to have fled north toward Salmon Creek, according to a Nixle alert issued around 10 a.m. Monday.
Investigators say Evers was able to elude capture due to the darkness and rough terrain — and he appears to have a knack for that. Deputies searched the Albion area Thursday evening with similar results, according to another Nixle alert issued last week. He’s evaded arrest by disappearing into the woods at least four times this year — starting with an officer-involved shooting May 12 in which Evers allegedly fired multiple rounds at Deputy Thomas Kelly while fleeing from the scene of a burglary in the 3000 block of Cameron Road in Elk.
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