UPDATED 11:40 a.m. | The Woodford County sheriff's department says the armed-and-dangerous suspect in a string of vehicle thefts was spotted Sunday in rural Secor. He remains at large.
"Suspect (Todd Kelly) was last known to be in the rural Secor area (meridian trail, south of 700N) on 12/20/20 driving a stolen white Ford Transit Van, IL LIC: 2129410. Suspect is armed and considered dangerous. If spotted do not approach and contact local law enforcement! Unknown if still in the area. Additional info will be added when known!" the sheriff's office said on Facebook.
Secor is located between El Paso and Eureka in Woodford County.
PREVIOUS STORY | Authorities say the suspect in a string of vehicle thefts across McLean County is still on the run and armed and dangerous. His girlfriend is already in custody.
Authorities are searching for Todd Kelly Jr., 36, of Gridley. He is known to frequent Bloomington-Normal, LeRoy, Downs and El Paso.
There are active warrants for his arrest in McLean and Woodford counties.
“Kelly should be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached by the public,” McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said in a statement. “The public is encouraged to call 911 should you encounter Kelly.”
Bloomington Police said Kelly has made threats of violence about being captured.
Police described him as white male, 5-feet-9 and 190 pounds. Police say anyone with information about Kelly’s whereabouts should call their local law enforcement agency.
Chased across the county
Police have had several close encounters with Kelly in recent days.
Bloomington Police spotted Kelly and his girlfriend, Alyssa J. Thrasher, 21, in the Maple Groves Estates mobile home park in southwest Bloomington on Thursday, prosecutors said. Police tried to stop them but they fled at a "high rate of speed," prosecutors said.
A witness also spotted them Thursday after an apparent break-in at an abandoned house in rural Danvers, prosecutors said.
In both episodes, they were spotted with a silver car that was reported stolen out of Peoria.
By Thursday night Kelly was checked in at a Holiday Inn in LeRoy, police said. A large police presence was seen at the hotel Friday. LeRoy schools went into a soft lockdown Friday afternoon after reports of someone in town who had stolen multiple vehicles, according to an email WGLT obtained.
A pickup was stolen from the Holiday Inn on Friday, LeRoy police said.
Thrasher was arrested Friday. It was unclear if she was arrested at the hotel or another location.
She was charged Saturday with possession of a stolen vehicle, criminal trespass, and residential burglary, according to documents provided by McLean County prosecutors. Thrasher and Kelly are "suspects in numerous open investigations involving a string of motor vehicle thefts within the last week," prosecutors said. She is being held on $100,000 bond.
Sandage, the sheriff, added people should keep their car doors locked and not leave them unattended when warming them up in cold weather.
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