Authorities have released the details of a standoff in Sac County following a multi-county pursuit last Friday. According to the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, on June 14 at around 3:18 p.m., the office was notified of a vehicle pursuit in Crawford County that was heading north toward Ida and Sac County. The vehicle was identified as the Lincoln Navigator reported stolen in Woodbury County earlier that morning. The driver and suspect of the stolen vehicle, Jason Scott French of Manilla, continued north into southeastern Ida County when Ida County Deputy located the vehicle and continued pursuit into southwestern Sac County. The pursuit continued with the unsuccessful attempt to stop the vehicle utilizing stop sticks until the area of Jackson Avenue and 290th Street. French drove the vehicle into a field and came to a rest in a ditch after coming in contact with a fence. French was then observed to exit the vehicle with a handgun. The Iowa State Patrol aircraft and Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office drones were used to make overhead observations of French’s movements while communication was being made using a PA system. Crisis negotiators and tactical teams from Storm Lake/Buena Vista County were dispatched to assist. The standoff lasted approximately two hours before law enforcement heard a single gunshot. Drone footage showed that French was no longer moving, and law enforcement confirmed French was deceased with the handgun located on the ground nearby. No shots were fired by law enforcement, and preliminary autopsy results verified a contact gunshot wound to the head as the cause of death. French was wanted on a felony warrant out of South Dakota. The Sac, Ida, and Buena Vista Sheriff’s Offices, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Sac City, Lake View and Storm Lake Police Department, along with Odebolt Fire Department and Sac County EMS all assisted at the scene.
