It was intended to be a routine warrant arrest of an Illinois man wanted for driving while intoxicated, but it resulted in a high-speed chase, a three-hour manhunt and the arrest of four suspected of manufacturing methamphetamine in a Cape Girardeau hotel.

Charges against the men were pending as of late Friday, and police had not released their names.

According to Cape Girardeau officer Sgt. Rick Schmidt, police were given a tip from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department in Illinois that a man wanted for DWI was staying at the Pear Tree Inn in Cape Girardeau.

Officers arrived at the hotel about 10:30 a.m. Friday just as two men -- including the wanted man -- were pulling out of the parking lot in a red Ford Thunderbird.

Once they spotted police, they took off.

"They turned north onto Farrar and wouldn't stop for us," Schmidt said.

A short, high-speed chase began and stopped at Farrar Drive's dead end. The car was driven into a yard, knocking over a small tree with enough force to cause the car's airbags to deploy. The men fled on foot, but police caught one within a few minutes.

The second arrest wasn't as easy. Police spent the next three hours climbing over fences, searching barns and combing area roads.

At one point, police suspected the man had gone into a house in the 3000 block of Julie Drive. A back door had been left open and tracks led up to the door. After a search of the house, no one was found. But three nervous neighbors stood in their yards and watched as one officer stood watch holding a shotgun.

The officers finally came out of the house and said the suspect wasn't inside.

"Lucky he wasn't hiding under the bed," one officer said. "There were several guns under there."

Police finally found the man hiding in a shed near the crash site. He was taken into custody at 1:13 p.m.

A search of the suspects' car turned up several items related to the manufacture of methamphetamine. Police warned bystanders not to come too close to the car, where they had found meth-related chemicals. Police later arrested two other Illinois men at the Pear Tree, where they were sharing a room with the two who ran. Meth ingredients were also found in the room, Schmidt said.

Staff writer Mike Wells contributed to this report.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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