EUGENE, Ore. -- More than a stolen car was at stake in a high speed chase over country roads at speeds approaching 60 mph Tuesday evening: the passenger was a 10-year-old girl, abducted from the streets of a Eugene-area neighborhood as she rode her bicycle.

Witnesses told the sheriff a car rammed the girl while she was on her bike, and that the girl got up and ran away. The driver got out and grabbed the girl and forced her into a small 4-door sedan on River Loop #1, a road in the Santa Clara area of Eugene and unincorporated Lane County, witnesses told the sheriff.

The vehicle description and license plate matched that of a stolen vehicle neighbors spotted an hour earlier and reported to the sheriff's office as suspicious. The sheriff's office now believes the suspect was cruising the neighborhood looking for someone to abduct, officials said at a press conference Wednesday morning.

As deputies mounted a search and called other law enforcement agencies for assistance, Deputy Scot Denham spotted the car in question near Clear Lake Road and Territorial Highway, west of Fern Ridge Reservoir.

Deputy Denham gave chase when the vehicle failed to stop. The chase continued along county roads in the Elmira area for 20 minutes at speeds between 40 and 60 mph while other law enforcement units rushed to the area. 

Using special equipment, sheriff’s deputies were able to deflate at least one of the tires on the suspect vehicle at the intersection of Knight Road and Sheffler Road. 

Then Eugene Police K-9 officer Robert Rosales used his police vehicle to force the suspect's car off the road. The driver was quickly apprehended and the girl removed to safety.

All told, less than an hour passed between the abduction and her rescue. An AMBER Alert was prepared but never issued since the girl was located.

Both the victim and suspect were transported to area hospitals for evaluation.

The sheriff is withholding the name of the victim at this time.

Police took Malcolm Michael Gerlach, 25, into custody. The district attorney is investigating and expects to file formal charges against Gerlach. Police said Gerlach, formerly of Santa Rosa, Calif., recently had been homeless and living in the Douglas County area.

Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. at the Sheriff’s Office, 125 E. 8th Av. in Eugene, to release additional information on this incident.