BUNNELL, Fla. — A wanted woman who fled from deputies into a wooded area was eventually taken into custody after a nearby homeowner loaned Flagler County deputies a canoe, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies identified the woman as 28-year-old Tiffani Driggers, who had an active fugitive warrant from Walton County for felony violation of probation.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called Thursday afternoon to a self-storage business on Airport Road in Ormond Beach for a trespassing complaint.
When deputies arrived, Driggers ran into a nearby wooded area, according to the release.
Deputies, a K-9 team and the sheriff’s office drone unit searched the area with help from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and its Air One helicopter, but they were unable to immediately find her.
Resident hears woman calling for help
Later that evening, a resident on Windsong Court reported hearing a woman calling for help from a wooded peninsula near the area of the earlier search.
Deputies responded and made voice contact with the woman across a canal.
The sheriff’s office said Driggers told deputies she was exhausted, could not cross the water and may have injured her ankle.
While deputies requested help from the agency’s Marine Unit, a nearby homeowner offered them a canoe.
Two deputies crossed the canal, located Driggers and brought her back across the water in the canoe, according to the sheriff’s office. She was evaluated by Volusia County Fire Rescue before being taken into custody.
Held without bond
Driggers was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she was being held without bond on the fugitive warrant.
Sheriff Rick Staly thanked the residents who helped deputies locate Driggers and provided the canoe.
“Whether it takes a patrol car, K-9, drone, helicopter, or canoe, our deputies will find a way to get the job done,” Staly said.
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