By Elisabeth Strillacci

SPENCER — A vehicle chase that ended in Spencer on Monday evening resulted in the recovery of a stolen car from Salisbury but the suspects from the vehicle are still on the loose.

According to Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy spotted a stolen vehicle shortly after 6 p.m. on U.S. Hwy. 601 at East Ridge Road. The silver Kia Optima LX was reported stolen from Admiral Drive on March 8, according to Salisbury police, who said they received the report at 9:48 a.m.

According to deputies, when the car pulled into the Village Grocery on 601, the driver spotted the patrol car and sped off.

The deputy did try to stop the car, but the driver refused to pull over, fleeing down East Ridge Road at speeds of more than 100 mph.

The driver continued onto a dead end street off of East Ridge, driving through a front yard and then getting back onto the roadway.

The chase moved onto Hollywood Drive in the town of Spencer, where Spencer police joined in to assist. Spencer officers deployed stop sticks to no avail. Instead, the driver of the stolen car began passing other cars on a curve in the road, forcing the deputy in pursuit to back off for the safety of other drivers. In doing so, the deputy lost sight of the car momentarily.

Minutes later, the vehicle was found abandoned beside a church just outside the town limits of Spencer.

Rowan County’s K-9 officer was brought in to conduct a search for the suspects in a heavily wooded area, as was the state highway patrol helicopter, without success.  At this time, police say they have no descriptions of the suspects, but have said deputies believe there were three or four suspects in the car when the chase started.

In a press release from RCSO, there was no mention of any guns or other weapons being seen during the chase.

Following the search, investigators said  some or all of the suspects may have been picked up in the area of 7th Street by someone driving a black minivan seen in that area at that time.

Meanwhile, Salisbury police officers arrived to process the stolen car and recover any evidence related to the robbery.

At some point during the incident, deputies received information that the car may have been used in an armed robbery on Mooresville Road in Salisbury on March 10. The robbery took place at 12:43 a.m. and $200 was stolen, but police say it has not been officially confirmed at this time that the vehicle is actually connected to the robbery.

Anyone with any additional information is asked to contact the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office at 704-216-8700 or the Salisbury Police Department at 704-638-5333.