A police search was ongoing Tuesday night, as officers assisted by PolAir and the Police Dog Unit scoured the area surrounding a Jesmond shopping centre for two people who fled from a vehicle involved in a chase through the suburbs earlier in the afternoon.
Police had attempted to pull over a Lexus at Charlestown around 3.30pm but officers said it failed to stop and a pursuit began through New Lambton, along the Newcastle Inner City Bypass, eventually ending at a shopping centre carpark on Bluegum Road about an hour later.
Police said two people had decamped from the vehicle, leaving it abandoned, sparking a search of the area involving assistance from the Dog Unit and support from a police helicopter.
The vehicle was towed from the scene just before 8pm, as the search continued into the night. Police inquiries were continuing, a spokesperson said.
Witnesses had earlier reported hearing sirens, and the Police aircraft overhead, as well as a heavy police presence in the suburbs south and west of the Newcastle CBD.
- The details of this report are developing. It will be updated.
