A man who eluded law enforcement by jumping into East Bay early Sunday morning is still missing, according to Olympia police.
But police have updated information about what happened before he plunged into Budd Inlet, Lt. Paul Lower said Tuesday.
About 3:10 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a boat owner who called 911 to report that a man had come aboard while he was asleep, brandishing a hammer.
The man was originally described as a burglary suspect, although based on the updated information it's not clear what he was intending to do, Lower said.
The boat owner was able to take the hammer away, then the man ran off, down the dock and back onto land where he was spotted by marina security near Market Street and Franklin Street Northeast.
Police arrived and the officer got out of his vehicle to explain what he was responding to.
"I'm looking for a place to go to the bathroom," the man reportedly told the officer, then he ran off, heading east toward Marine Drive. He eventually jumped into East Bay and began to swim away.
The officer drove to the other side of the bay to meet him there, but then the man began to swim north. The officer then drove to Swantown Marina and walked out to the end of J dock, yelling at the man to swim to shore or the dock.
He was about 50 yards from the dock near a navigation marker and appeared to be treading water, according to police. At one point the officer thought he heard the man calling for help.
The man continued to swim or drift north until he was about 100 yards from the dock. By then the Olympia Fire Department had launched a boat and police called for the Thurston County dive team, but they were unable to find the man.
