A wanted fugitive who was the subject of an hours-long manhunt Tuesday in Plainfield is believed to have carjacked someone in the southwest suburb early Wednesday morning.
Police said Lowell "Max" Ambler is suspected of removing a driver from his vehicle at gunpoint around 8:30 a.m. on 119th Street just west of Van Dyke Road.
"The victim flagged down a passerby and was able to call 911," police said. "The victim advised that the subject resembled Lowell Ambler."
Police were searching the area for the vehicle, described as a maroon Hyundai Sante Fe with Illinois plate S785884.
A manhunt for Ambler ended Tuesday evening after authorities said they believed he was no longer in the area.
Authorities were searching for Ambler, 46, who has active arrest warrants in Lee and LaSalle counties for violating his bond and for violating of an order of protection, according to Plainfield police. Ambler was considered armed and dangerous.
The search began about noon Tuesday when police received an alert from Illinois State Police that Ambler was believed to be headed to a northwest portion of Plainfield in a stolen tractor-trailer.
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Police said they located the tractor-trailer on Normantown Road near 119th Street, but Ambler was not located.
Plainfield North High School was under a soft lockdown, police said. As of 2:24 p.m., students were being intermittently released from school, expect for those who live in the surrounding subdivisions. Residents within a 1/2-mile radius of the intersection were also asked to remain inside their homes.
The search was ended about six hours later when investigators got new information that Ambler was no longer in the area, police said.
Anyone who sees Ambler is asked to call 911, police said. He was described as a white man, about 6-foot, 180-200 pounds with blue eyes, brown hair and a goatee.
The Will County Sheriff's Department was expected to take over the investigation into the carjacking.
