THE Bass Coast Police Service Area Eyewatch page of social media has posted what has been described as the “your most entertaining post ever” after chasing down a local fugitive in the Wonthaggi CBD on Thursday, August 14.
The female, who failed to answer a summons to appear at the Korumburra Magistrates Court last month, got a start on police, but with the help of the community, they managed to run her down in a 1500 metre-dash through the main streets in town.
Here’s how police completed the obstacle course to finish on top of the podium.
“As the result of a substantial amount of information provided by the community, following an appeal on this page the day before, on Wednesday, August 13, at about 1.40pm (on Thursday) your local police attended in Graham Street Wonthaggi, to arrest a 24-year-old female. The female was wanted by police as she had a warrant issued for her arrest, due to not attending court.
“Two police units from Wonthaggi were dispatched, with them both going into the premier street in Wonthaggi, and they headed towards a location which had been described as near a location associated with charcoal chicken (not the fried type back up the road), and police were then updated that the female was heading towards a place described as a ‘Scottish family restaurant’.
“Police descended in the bustling shopping area, and not long after, one of our eagle-eyed senior constables observed the wanted female running along Wrench Lane, from Billson Street.
“Taking no time to admire the wonderful historical mural which is dedicated to all things pioneering coal mining and pharmaceutical, the female ran as fast as she could, taking off from the male companion she had been with, quickly leaving him behind.
“In what could only be the most ironic thing that the female could do, and with outlandish and misguided hope of freedom, the female made a right turn, and ran south towards the Wonthaggi Magistrates Court, at which time, the pursuing police could not understand why the female had not ran with such vigour toward the Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on the 10th of July 2025, like she had signed and entered into doing on the 30th of June 2025 when she last had cause to deal with the police.
“The female didn’t tire, nor did her male companion who followed close behind, having possibly thought that his new found friend was leaving him forever, and the female continued with the paradoxical direction of travel, entering the grounds of a court of competent jurisdiction, and running towards the back.
“For a brief moment of time, the pursuing police thought that she might be going to surrender herself, albeit a few weeks late, and present herself to the magistrate, pushing in the old heavy front doors, and vociferously announcing “I’m sorry, I’m late.”, but just as quickly as the thought occurred, it evaporated, and the female kept on going south.
“In what police would refer to as mens rea, the male companion, thinking that he had to do his bit to assist, removed his bright red jumper as he ran, which slowed him considerably, and made his running style look somewhat unwieldy and impaired.
“Despite this, his fairly rememberable appearance remained the same and he still looked out of place running after his lady friend.
“As this hot pursuit was evolving, the other police unit was waved down in Watt Street, by a person who had seen the rather amateur athletic event occurring.
“This community-minded citizen told the second police unit about how they thought the female was going to emerge in Baillieu Street East, so the second police unit raced into the rear of where the council buildings are.
“The first police unit also raced to the scene with the navigation and driving skills of the former highway patrol sergeant being showcased.
“The senior constable exited the police car, did some stretches and got himself ready, taking a few seconds to see the wanted female running towards his locale, and hid being a fence, ready to pounce.
“The female thought that she had fled the law, and was home free, wherever that home is, and started to slow, maybe thinking that she was going to continue her time at large, but this ended very quickly for her, as before she knew it, the senior constable sprung out like a jack-in-the-box and made his presence known.
“Suffice to say, this unexpected interruption to her freedom plans resulted in a few reactions from the female.
“The first reaction was to allegedly throw a packet of nonconformist cigarettes onto the ground and announce that there were drugs inside them.
“This could have been an attempt to lure police into thinking that the drugs were the bigger prize, but this was wrong, as police took a tight grasp of her arms, and secured her with the trusty nickel-plated fashion accessory which get used on many a wrist around these parts.
“The second reaction was to stridently announce to all that police had arrested the wrong person, which fooled none of our officers.
“Without taking a breath, and showing her level of fitness for running away, a final ciggie was smoked, skilfully without hands, and once the fag was had, she went down to the cells at the Wonthaggi Police Station, where after executing the warrant and copping a charge for drugs, the female was bailed to appear at the Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on the 18th of September 2025.
“In this running race, justice was on top of the podium, and the other two failed to finish.
“The information that the community provided helped in the apprehension of the female, by providing her location and description, and it again shows the value of our local community working together with police, and the ongoing success of this page in being a valuable part of community policing and helping the community to be safer.”
