Two arrested after early morning chase in Columbia

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m.: Elainia Woodward and Bryan Scott were arrested Wednesday morning after leading officers on a chase through central Columbia.

According to court documents, an automated license-plate reader alerted deputies to a stolen car out of Kansas. A deputy spotted the car and began following it.

The deputy said he attempted to stop the car after it exited Interstate 70 at Providence Road. Woodward, the driver, allegedly did not stop and drove through several city streets. According to court documents, Woodward nearly lost control several times.

The chase finally ended when Woodward turned down a dead-end street and she and Scott were taken into custody.

Deputies also found another person in the car, a one-month old child. Court documents say the child was not in a car seat and “deputies dug through children’s clothing and other items to recover the child.”

According to court documents, Scott admitted to deputies “he knew the car was ‘hot’ and he purchased the car for $500.” Scott also allegedly admitted he told Woodward not to stop when deputies attempted to pull them over.

Scott is charged with tampering in the first degree for “knowingly and without consent of the owner of the possessed and automobile,” as well as endangering the welfare of a child by creating “a substantial risk to the body and health and life of a one-month old child by encouraging the driver of a car carrying the child to lead police on a chase through city streets.”

Woodward is also charged with tampering in the first degree, endangering the welfare of a child, as well as resisting arrest “by fleeing from the officer.”

Their first court appearances are scheduled for Thursday.

UPDATE: Boone County Deputies tell our crews the chase initially began in Boone County, after an officer recognized a car was stolen from Kansas.

The car did not pull over for the deputy and the chase began.

The chase went near downtown Columbia, with speeds reaching near 50 mph.

The chase ended on Stone Street, when the stolen vehicle reached a dead end and wound up in bushes.

Boone County Sheriffs Department arrested a man and woman.

CPD and Missouri State Highway Patrol assisted in the chase.

ORIGINAL: Columbia police were involved in an early morning chase Wednesday.

ABC 17 News crews witnessed multiple CPD vehicles pursuing a vehicle near Business Loop 70 near Providence Road around 3:50 a.m.

Reports indicate that the car involved was stolen, but ABC 17 News is working to confirm details of the chase and any possible arrests.