YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP DEPARTMENT:Man Who Fell In Hole In The Ground Was Running From The Cops

In earlier blog posting, we postulated reasons for the man falling into a hole in the ground.. We were wrong, we were so wrong! KOLR-10 Has the story: Running from the cops

A man recently rescued by authorities, is now behind bars. It's a strange twist on a story first posted here Wednesday night.

Wednesday night, emergency workers pulled a man from a sinkhole just off the Galloway Creek Greenways Trail near Lone Pine and Battlefield.

He told rescuers he had been in the hole since some time Tuesday. He was treated for dehydration, but otherwise was not seriously injured.

Many people wondered how he fell into the 25 foot deep hole. Now, Springfield law officers think they know the answer.

"A couple of nights ago there was a search warrant being executed on west side of town," explains Springfield police Lt. Jay Huff. "The man we were looking for wasn't there, but he was seen in the area, turned around and drove away. There was a short chase, but they discontinued because he accelerated very rapidly and they didn't want to cause any other problems," Huff says.

Now police believe Russell David Metcalf, 45, hid from police that night along the Galloway Trail, and fell into the hole in the dark. More than 24 hours later, someone heard his cries for help and he was pulled to safety.

Then Thursday night around 8:00 pm, authorities were once again trying to find the man they had a federal arrest warrant for. The man took cover at the home of a friend in north Springfield. Negotiators with the ATF eventually talked him out of the house after a two-hour standoff. That man was Russell David Metcalf.

Springfield police say Metcalf is a long time resident of Springfield. The federal warrant was for being a felon in possessionof a firearm. Metcalf was originally convicted in 1990 of two felony drug charges.

What a twist! You can't make stuff up like this!

A side note: sources tell us the bottom of the sinkhole Metcalf fell into was full of raw sewage and he was covered in sewage when he was rescued. Apparently he not only didn't know his a** from a hole in the ground but he was full of s**t too.

Man falls into hole in the ground.