A broken-down car along Interstate 70 in Douglas County Sunday led Kansas police to a wanted man – who then led them on an unsuccessful foot chase through nearby fields.

Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Alan Taylor said a state trooper stopped along the interstate to help a driver whose car broke down when the driver’s story stopped adding up.

When the trooper found out the driver had a warrant for writing bad checks, he confronted the man about it, Taylor said.

The driver fled on foot, hopping over the interstate’s fence near the Kansas Highway 32 overpass. The trooper tried to give chase but couldn’t catch him.

“That’s the last we ever saw of him,” Taylor said.

Highway Patrol called in a helicopter, a police dog and several other law enforcement agencies to help in the search, which led them through thick fields and a neighbor’s property.

The manhunt may have worked if not for a neighbor who led the police dog astray while he was trying to find the driver himself.

Taylor said the dog caught the scent of the neighbor and couldn’t find the driver’s scent again.

“He was a good citizen,” Taylor said of the helpful neighbor, “but he kind of fouled us up.”

Taylor would not release the driver’s name but said he left his driver’s license with the police.