UPDATE: Police Capture Fleeing Drug Suspect Wedged in Drainage Tunnel

A narcotics suspect who flipped his motorcycle while fleeing police and escaped into the labyrinth of underground drainage tunnels at Lassen Street and Corbin Avenue was captured at about 9 p.m. Friday.

He had been hiding in tight, damp, dark, underground spaces for about six hours as police sent a remote-controlled robot and a dog into tunnels to sniff him out.

The suspect's female companion was arrested at the scene, police said. Neither one has been publicly identified.

One officer said the suspect had wedged himself "worm-like," 40 feet down a narrowing tube-like tunnel. "They saw blood. They know he's in there," he said.

"He was a narcotics ... and a possible bike theft (suspect),'' Officer Norma Eisenman said. "There was a short pursuit and he ran into the L.A. River.''

Finally the city's Urban Search and Rescue team arrived and lowered personnel and equipment into the drainage channel which eventually leads to the ocean.

Hundreds of neighbors and the curious gathered at the scene as police and firefighters sought out the suspect. Police and television helicopters circled overhead for hours.

-- City News Service contributed to this report.