A man whose last known address is Pershing Avernue in Wheelersburg was arrested on a bench warrant for escape by troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday morning, following a foot chase.

Matthew Dawson, 32, was arrested on a bench warrant from Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge William T. Marshall because he failed to appear for a schedule hearing on a Felony 2 escape charge. The escape charge was filed in 2010.

“He was a passenger in a car that Trooper David Richendollar stopped, and the pulled into the Quik Stop in Minford,” said Karla Taulbee, commander of the Portsmouth Post of the OSHP. “They were in a van, and while Richendollar was in his cruiser running licenses and IDs, the guy sneaked out the passenger side of the car, which Dave couldn’t see because of the way he was parked. Then it came back that the guy had a warrant.”

It was that stop that began the search for Dawson.

“Matthew Dawson took off on foot at some point,” Scioto County Sheriff’s Captain David Hall said. “The State Patrol and our department, detectives and deputies were tracking him with the State Patrol plane and the State Patrol’s Canine Units. The airplane did an awesome job of tracking him and finding him in a ravine off of the Hickman Road area of the Lucasville-Minford Road. The plane spotted him along with their canine unit, and he had traveled a long distance.”

Hall talked about the cooperative effort that led to the arrest.

“All the agencies working together did a great job,” Hall said.