By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

They signed up with Citizens on Patrol to help police watch over Madisonville. Saturday night, that volunteer work put them in the middle of a police chase that ended when a suspect shot himself.

Patricia Markley and three other members of Madisonville's COP were patrolling the neighborhood, just as they do a couple of nights every week. About 10:45 p.m. they heard on their police radio that gunfire was reported on Conant Street Seconds later, they saw the suspect's white Dodge Ram van drive right past. They didn't chase it; they're not allowed.

They did, however, follow. Driver Jim Eppens stayed about a block behind. They used their radio to tell a dispatcher they had the van in sight, and they stayed behind it until they saw a Fairfax police cruiser.

They pulled over to the curb and let the "flurry" of police cars handle it, Markley said. "We were very excited that we found their vehicle for them,'' she said. "But we were sorry it turned out the way it did."

Police chased the 1999 van north on Interstate 71 from the Red Bank Road ramp. Just as they passed the Montgomery Road exit, the suspect stopped in the high-speed lane. When officers approached the van, they found the driver had shot himself in the right side of his head.

The man, whom authorities said was 37, was taken to University Hospital, but he did not survive. His name was not released Sunday. Investigators were notifying his family.

Traffic on northbound I-71 was shut down for three hours.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office released no further information Sunday.

Back on Conant Street, another man was shot in the hip in the initial incident. His injuries were not life-threatening.

Markley has lived in Madisonville for all of her 59 years. Saturday was her third night of the week out on patrol, including Thursday night with a visitor, Councilman David Pepper.

The group heard gunfire every night.

"Five years ago, I wouldn't have known the difference between a backfire, firecrackers or a gun," Markley said. "Now I do. And I'm sorry I have to know that."

The Citizens on Patrol group, including Eppens' wife, Kim, and Ruth Ann Busald, heard on their radio that the chase suspect had shot himself.

An officer told her the group had done a good job.

"We didn't feel so good about it," Markley said. "It didn't exactly turn out the way we expected."

E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com