A Modesto man who triggered a five-hour search has been arrested. Oakdale Police officers, along with multiple allied agencies, took 36-year-old Christopher Milchen into custody on Friday evening, according to a press release issued by the Oakdale Police Department.

On Friday, July 30, shortly after 12:15 p.m., Oakdale Police dispatchers received a call requesting a welfare check of a man at the Save Mart Supermarket in the 1400 block of East F Street. The caller stated that a man was passed out and slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle. An OPD officer responded and contacted the man, authorities said. As the officer was speaking with the driver, he noticed the man had drug paraphernalia. The driver then placed the car in reverse with the driver’s side door open, pinning the officer between the door and the vehicle. The officer was subsequently dragged by the car and run over as the suspect fled the scene.

Several bystanders jumped into action to provide aid to the officer before an ambulance arrived on scene. The officer was taken to a local hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries and has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

The suspect drove the vehicle to the area of Maag Avenue and Sierra Road where he left the car and took off on foot, running into a nearby orchard. OPD, with help from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, Fish and Wildlife, and CHP, set up a perimeter to find Milchen.

Later, several citizens in the area of South Yosemite and Hi Tech Parkway reported seeing Milchen in the area. Officers in the area were able to locate Milchen and he was apprehended in the 1300 block of South Yosemite Avenue. He faces attempted murder charges.

“We are thankful for the assistance from our allied agencies and the fast action of our community members who assisted our injured officer and the community members that reported seeing Milchen on Hi Tech Parkway,” the news release stated.