A Letcher man was taken in peacefully by law enforcement when he was found in a grove of trees north of his home, after leading police on a chase, reaching speeds of 150 mph Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20.
Bruce Pueppke, 60, driving a gray Porsche, was clocked speeding excessively by Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Nelson, on Interstate 90 near the Hanson/McCook county line. Pueppke exited the interstate at mile marker 357 in McCook County between Salem and Spencer, then headed back towards Mitchell on backroads.
He drove to a farmstead on the Plano Road, 247th Street, jumped out of his car and ran to a tree grove. No one appeared to be home at the farmstead, which included a trailer house and some outbuildings. Pueppke was found lying in tall grass in the tree grove.
Pueppke was reportedly mentally unstable, manic depressive and easily angered, but was lucid and sober when law enforcement found him.
He was charged with aggravated eluding, a felony with a maximum of two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Highway Patrol from Mitchell, Sioux Falls and Vermillion, the Davison and Sanborn county sheriff’s offices and the Department of Game, Fish and Parks responded to the incident.