Fugitive Ex-Deputy Surrenders 'Peacefully' After Plainfield Carjacking, School Lockdowns

EARLVILLE, IL — After a three-day manhunt, school cancellations and a Plainfield carjacking, a former sheriff's deputy running from an arrest warrant was "peacefully taken into custody" by police in Earlville, a LaSalle County community about an hour west of Plainfield. Just before 9 a.m. Thursday, Plainfield police said Lowell Ambler, who goes by the name "Max," was apprehended.

Ambler went on the run after Lee County authorities said he violated conditions of his bond and an order of protection Sunday. On Tuesday, police said he stole a semi-trailer, which was found abandoned near 119th Street and Normantown Road in Plainfield.

Plainfield officials spent hours searching for Ambler Tuesday, and by nightfall said they believed he was out of the area. But the fugitive, accused of home invasion and holding a teenage girl against her will, is suspected of carjacking a man at gunpoint near a Plainfield farmhouse and stealing a Hyundai Santa Fe.

The stolen vehicle was found abandoned near a wooded area in south Earlville Wednesday afternoon, police said. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton told NBC Chicago that Ambler — a former LaSalle deputy — was "I'm sure, very desperate" and on the run. According to the Illinois Valley NewsTribune, police scanner traffic indicated the ex-deputy had been in contact with his father, former state trooper and Earlville Police chief, Lowell Ambler.

Ambler, who was considered armed and dangerous, was reportedly taken into custody at around 8:30 a.m. after he surrendered and walked out of a home in Earlville.

Image via Mendota police