A hunter arrested on an outstanding warrant jumped out of a police cruiser near the Kosciusko County Jail in a bid to flee Indiana conservation officers, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

About 5 p.m. Saturday, a conservation officer on patrol near Durham Lake encountered Charles Norris as he was coming out of a wooded area.

After discovering that Norris, 29, of Leesburg, had a felony warrant in Whitley County, the officer requested backup before trying to take Norris into custody. Two more conservation officers arrived, and Norris fled on foot before he was handcuffed. He was caught after a brief chase and kept resisting as officers handcuffed him.

Norris was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital for a medical examination and was then taken to the Kosciusko County Jail. There, he jumped out of the slow-moving police cruiser and ran away while handcuffed behind his back.

Conservation officers apprehended him again and took him back to the jail. As he was being booked, he claimed he had swallowed balloons containing methamphetamine earlier that day, so he was taken back to the hospital. After another medical exam, he was cleared to return to the jail.

Norris faces charges of resisting law enforcement, escaping law enforcement, cocaine possession, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and failure to obtain a hunting license.

He was being held Tuesday night at the Whitley County Jail on a probation violation. His bail was $30,000.