By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

GREENWOOD – A Greenwood man is charged with kidnapping his estranged wife at gunpoint Thursday in Rumford and leading police on a chase that ended near his home without injury, police said.

Everett E. Chase, 45, surrendered after police set up spike mats near his home and he lost control of his pickup truck, according to state police. Surrounded by officers with drawn weapons, Chase stepped out of the truck with his hands in the air.

His wife, Lisa, was rattled but unharmed, police said.

Chase broke into her Rumford home before 10 a.m. with a handgun and forced her into his red Ford Ranger, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. Their children were home at the time, according to Rumford police.

Rumford Detective Lt. George Cayer said a case worker, on the phone with Lisa when Everett entered her home, alerted Rumford police to the situation.

From there, police surmised Chase would head to his home at 24 Alcohol Mary Road, Cayer said. All police agencies in the area were notified.

Police said they quit talking over the scanner when they suspected Chase might be listening and coordinated their strategy by cell phone.

Around 10:30 a.m., Chase drove past Norway police, who pursued him along Richardson Hollow Road.

Norway Police Chief Rob Federico said he, Norway police officer Duffy Ellsworth and an Oxford County deputy kept Chase in sight until they knew that state police had placed spike mats along the road ahead of him. Then they turned on their lights and sirens, and Chase took off, driving up to 55 miles per hour at one point.

“She was horrified, extremely upset,” Federico said, describing his glimpses of Lisa Chase. “She turned around to look at us, waving her hand clearly for some help.”

They followed Chase as he hit his first set of spikes near Alcohol Mary Road without stopping. He ran over another set at the junction of Route 219. “That’s when the spikes got him good,” Federico said, adding that despite blown-out tires, he kept going for another half-mile or so.

Eva Mills, who lives at the intersection of Old County Road and Route 219, said she saw Chase’s truck scream by her home, followed by nine police cars.

Soon after, the truck swerved and crashed into a ditch off the road. Police had Chase in custody around 10:40 a.m. They took him to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway for an evaluation and then to jail, where he was charged with kidnapping, terrorizing, burglary, eluding an officer and passing a road block. Bail was set at $50,000 cash.

Chase is listed on the Maine Sex Offender Registry for a conviction in 1999 of unlawful sexual contact with a someone under 14 years old.

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