'Armed & Dangerous' Ex-Deputy No Longer In Plainfield Area: Police

PLAINFIELD, IL — A wanted and possibly armed suspect was still at large but no longer in the Plainfield area as of just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, Plainfield police said. The search for an "armed and dangerous" man wanted in Lee County on aggravated kidnapping and home invasion charges prompted a soft lockdown at Plainfield North High School, and police urged homeowners within a half-mile radius of the campus to stay indoors during the search.

"After an extensive search of the area by multiple officers, K9 units and an air unit, we are confident that the subject is no longer in the area," Plainfield police said in a Facebook post. "Plainfield Police were contacted by Lee County Sheriff’s Office in reference to a subject wanted out of their county. They believed he may be in possession of a semi, which was reported stolen earlier in the day out of LaSalle County. Officers searched the area and were able to locate the stolen semi. A search was conducted of the immediate area in an attempt to locate the subject. During the course of this search, we had increased security around all local schools and throughout the neighborhoods."

Police said they received an Illinois State Police Emergency response message about the fugitive, identified as 46-year-old Lowell "Max" Ambler of Mendota, at 12:03 p.m. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"Plainfield Police units immediately responded to the area to conduct a search for the fugitive and vehicle. A short time later, the stolen semi-tractor trailer was located unoccupied on Normantown Road north of 119th Street," police said in a news release. "Based on the possibility of the subject still being in the area, local schools were placed into soft lockdowns, a reverse 911 of that area was issued for residents to shelter in place and additional police units from several surrounding communities and federal agencies were called in to conduct an exhaustive search."

A witness reported seeing multiple officers with guns drawn surrounding a cornfield near the Edward Plainfield campus at around 4:30 p.m.

Assisted by K-9s, police on foot and in vehicles searched the surrounding residential areas, commercial areas, abandoned buildings, farm houses and nearby fields. Plainfield police said a "fixed wing aerial surveillance plane" was also used. After a nearly six-hour search, "leads developed indicating that the subject was no longer in the area," and the search was discontinued, police said.

The investigation remains active, according to Plainfield police.

The Inter-State Consolidated Emergency Reporting Network (ICERN) said an alert was issued for Ambler, adding he has a revoked FOID card and may be armed with a .45-caliber weapon. Ambler was reportedly driving a stolen Freightliner truck.

SaukValley.com reported that Ambler was accused of holding a teenage girl from Plainfield against her will and had been in a relationship with the girl's mother. According to the outlet, he is accused of choking the girl, duct-taping her head and mouth and throwing her, unconscious, into a bean field. Lee County Sheriff John Simonton reportedly said the search for Ambler was "being conducted in northern LaSalle County and in Plainfield in Will County."

The initial alert from Plainfield police came with a directive that even students scheduled for early release from PNHS remain in the school auditorium until police gave an all-clear. By 2:30 p.m., a District 202 spokesman said all students had been dismissed:

Per directive from the Plainfield Police department all PNHS students who drove to school were released and directed to exit the campus off of 119th street and head east bound.

Walking students were directed to contact a parent to pick them up who live in Auburn Estates, Heritage Oaks, and Century Trace.

Students who ride a bus that drops off in one of those subdivisions will be held here on campus until given permission to leave by the Plainfield Police department.

Parents who pick up their children in the circle drive will be redirected to exit the campus on 119th going east bound.

All other buses left at the normal time.

All athletics and extracurricular activities that are held outdoors have been canceled for today

As of early Tuesday evening, Plainfield North was expected to be open and operate normally on Wednesday, according to District 202.

On Monday, the Illinois Valley NewsTribune said police described Ambler as "armed and dangerous." He is wanted in connection with an Aug. 26 home invasion in rural Compton in which he entered a home "while wearing a hood, robe or mask and confining and binding a victim which caused bruising."

Ambler was arrested by Mendota police Sept. 15 and released several days after posting bond, according to the NewsTribune. A new warrant for his arrest was reportedly issued Monday after he allegedly violated an order of protection and his bail bond. Ambler is a former LaSalle deputy and previously served as an alderman in Earlville.

Ambler is described as a white male with brown hair, a goatee and blue eyes. He is 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, police said.

Anyone who sees Ambler should not approach him, but call 911, police said. Anyone with information on the case should call the the Lee County Sheriff’s Department at 815-284-5217 or the Plainfield Police Department at 815-436-2341.

Photo via Mendota Police Department

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