LAKE COUNTY — A dangerous fugitive on the run after a botched home burglary attempt on Friday was still on the loose Monday, according to authorities.
Elliott Thomas Brackett, 52, a transient and former Upper Lake resident, is believed to be a danger to the public. He is described as being bald, 5 feet and 11 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds. Brackett was last seen in the nude. Anyone who sees Brackett is urged to call 9-1-1 to report his whereabouts.
“He is a burglar and a drug addict. He breaks into people”s homes and will apparently stop at nothing to avoid being caught,” Chief Deputy James Bauman said Monday.
The LCSD issued a Friday evening press release to alert the public that Brackett was on the loose after he was caught in the act of trying to steal items from a woman”s home near the junction of highways 29 and 20.
Brackett shed his clothes during a five-hour search after he ran out of the home near Scotts Creek shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, according to Bauman.
Bauman said Brackett had backed the victim”s truck up to her house and was loading her property into it when authorities arrived. Brackett was allegedly inside bagging more property when deputies entered.
“When an arrest was attempted, he fled through a side door on foot and the chase was on,” Bauman said.
Brackett ran from authorities into a complex of canals and thicketed terrain between Bridge Arbor North and Bridge Arbor South, according to Bauman. Brackett shed his clothes in various areas as he ran, “presumably for ease of movement in the waters of the various canals he used to evade deputies,” according to Bauman.
The press release said detectives found Brackett completely nude in the water. He reportedly swam away south down the water channel, and he was not found. Brackett is wanted for first-degree burglary, vehicle theft and resisting arrest.
According to Bauman, Brackett was arrested July 11 by the LCSD on charges of vehicle code violations and possession of burglary tools, was arrested on June 6 by the Lakeport Police Department on charges of commercial burglaries in Mendocino County, and has multiple arrests since 1992 for various narcotics and property crimes.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
