Woman found hiding in refrigerator in Lower Burrell woods after high-speed chase, police say

LOWER BURRELL, Pa. — A New Kensington woman is behind bars after police say she led officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car and then hid in a discarded refrigerator in the woods.

According to the criminal complaint, police were tracking a stolen Nissan Sentra that was driving in and out of New Kensington on Jan. 21 at around 1 a.m. In the area of Logans Ferry Road, a police cruiser pulled out behind the stolen car, which then took off at a high rate of speed toward Greensburg Road.

The cruiser’s lights were activated and the Sentra sped up to around 90 miles per hour, court documents said.

According to the complaint, the car ended up going down Fairview Drive, which is a dead end. It pulled into a driveway, through a front yard and into the woods. A male passenger got out and fled towards the back of the house. The woman driving fled into the woods.

K-9 Officer Atom helped track fresh footprints down the hill and found the woman’s orange hoodie on the ground around 300 yards into the woods, the complaint said. The officers came to an area filled with trash and noticed the footprints backtracked and then stopped. They observed a rusted refrigerator that had been opened, which K-9 Atom began to track toward.

A command was given five times to come out of the fridge before K-9 Atom engaged with a woman, later identified at Rachel Mautino, who was inside.

The stolen car had a baggie of suspected cocaine inside, court documents said. There was also a purse left inside with Mautino’s debit card with her name on it.

Mautino told police she took an unknown substance before driving the car, the complaint said.

Mautino is charged with receiving stolen property, flight to avoid apprehension, fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, obstructing administration of law or other government functions, false identification to law enforcement and reckless driving.

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