MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - Two men remained at large Wednesday night, officials said, following a car chase that left Lee High School on lockdown and ended around 2:15 p.m. in the 3400 block of Stanolind Avenue.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials observed the two unidentified suspects driving a gold Chevrolet Tahoe with fraudulent paper license plates around 2 p.m. on Highway 191, near Highway 158, according to Trooper Elena Viramontes.
DPS personnel unsuccessfully attempted to pull the SUV over for a moving violation several minutes later near the intersection of 191 and Loop 250, she said.
Instead of stopping, the Tahoe sped up and led DPS troopers on a car chase through Midland.
"It went on for maybe seven or eight minutes and ended when the suspects pulled over in the 3400 block of Stanolind Avenue," said Highway Patrol Sgt. Juan Spivey. "The driver and passenger exited and ran on foot... It's unknown why they were running from us and it's unknown if they had any weapons."
He described the suspects as Caucasian men between 5' 8" and 6." One man was wearing blue and white, according to Spivey, while the other was wearing black and white.
Investigators initially believed the suspects ran into a Stanolind Avenue residence and advised homeowner Ronda Childers the two men were likely hiding on her property.
"I went outside to get the mail... and I guess that's when they thought [the two men] had run into my house," Childers told NewsWest 9. "[I just remember] officers everywhere, everywhere, everywhere and I thought they were yelling, 'Ma'am, get back in the house!' So I got back in my house and locked the door because I didn't know what was going on."
Officers searched the garage, backyard and every room of her family's home, she said.
"And of course, I'm crying hysterically [the whole time]," Childers said. "I was scared out of my mind."
DPS troopers later determined the suspects had not entered her home and likely ran north from the scene.
Lee High School, located about a quarter of a mile from Childers' home, was placed on temporary lockdown during the investigation, according to Spivey.
"With a school being close by and students being present... we felt it was safer to lock the school down for preventative measures," he said.
The lockdown was later lifted and students were dismissed without incident, officials confirmed.
The unidentified suspects are wanted for evading arrest.
