Updated at 9:01 p.m.
A man who led police on a wild chase last week in Burlington and escaped by car, bicycle, sailboat and other modes of transportation was found and taken into custody Thursday after leading authorities on a foot chase through the woods of Georgia, according to Vermont State Police.
This time, police said, Eric Edson tried to make a getaway in a stolen kayak before jumping into a river and attempting to swim away from authorities before being arrested.
Edson, 52, of Burlington, was captured early Thursday afternoon by troopers with the Vermont State Police and game wardens with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to a state police press release. He faces more than a dozen new charges stemming from an armed robbery in Burlington and his subsequent escape attempts.
Edson was arrested after the troopers and wardens, responding to a tip, spotted him around 1 p.m. in a kayak on the Lamoille River, the release stated. Police said they believe the kayak had been stolen.
Edson landed the kayak on the northern riverbank near Route 104A and then fled the area on foot before jumping in the river and swimming to the southern shore near Georgia Mountain Road, where he was arrested, according to police.
He asked for a medical evaluation and was taken to a hospital for evaluation of injuries suffered while on the run. His condition was not immediately available Thursday afternoon, according to Adam Silverman, a state police spokesperson.
Edson is expected to be arraigned Friday morning in Vermont Superior Court. Among the felony charges he faces are assault and robbery with a weapon, grand larceny and eluding law enforcement – negligent operation. He also faces a slew of misdemeanor charges, including two counts of unauthorized use of a boat and three counts of careless and negligent operation of a vessel.
On Wednesday, state police reported sightings of Edson in Cambridge and Fairfax, on a John Deere tractor and in a dump truck, both of which police believed to have been stolen.
Edson was wanted in connection with an armed robbery that took place at a store in Burlington last month. In addition, Burlington police reported, Edson faces several charges from the pursuits with authorities last week, including one for allegedly stealing a sailboat.
The Aug. 30 pursuit began when Burlington police found a vehicle, with Edson sleeping at the wheel, that matched the description of one used in the robbery. When officers tried to wake him, Edson became belligerent and fled in the vehicle, according to police.
Edson later stole a bicycle and made his way to Appletree Bay, where he stole a sailboat, police said. Edson crashed that sailboat into the rocks along Rock Point on the shores of Lake Champlain as the U.S. Coast Guard sought to intercept him, police said.
Making his way to land along Rock Point, police said, Edson then fled into the woods in the area as he made his getaway.
Jimmy Nesbitt contributed to this report.
