Washington Tackle Skyler Fancher Nabs Purse Snatcher Despite Broken Leg

Skyler Fancher is an offensive tackle for the Washington Huskies who broke his leg during spring practice, requiring two surgeries. But he's still surprisingly nimble for a big guy, as a purse snatcher on the Washington campus found out the hard way.

Fancher was having dinner at a Chipotle Tuesday night when he heard a woman scream that her purse had been stolen. He looked up, saw the thief running away, and decided to run him down.

Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times picks up the story:

The chase lasted about 10 minutes, according to Fancher. It included two other men, one of whom suffered knee and nose injuries while trying to catch the purse snatcher. During the pursuit, Fancher, who has had two surgeries on his right leg since he injured it during spring practice, also climbed a wall.

"After coming off surgery, I'm not in top shape, so I was pretty tired," Fancher said Thursday afternoon. "It took us at least 10 minutes to catch him, but it seemed like forever. ...

"I would just say I'm a normal citizen," said Fancher, who did not reinjure his leg during the chase. "We're all just trying to look out for each other, right?"

The thief was a 14-year-old boy who climbed a tree to try to get away from Fancher. He was ultimately apprehended by police. And Fancher says he feels good about what he did, and that his leg feels fine -- even though doctors haven't even cleared him to run

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

7-17-2009 @ 2:05PM

wolverton347 said...

Great job you should be very proud of yourself!

7-17-2009 @ 2:28PM

gerry said...

to bad there are not more people like fancher i'm happy to know there are still good men around that will help a woman ,insted of hurting them.congrats francher

7-17-2009 @ 2:53PM

earsstinks said...

That would be a embarrassing story to tell in jail !Thats like being in a ass kicking contest with a one legged man and losing ! lol

7-17-2009 @ 3:08PM

rsifrankie said...

way to go.... YES football is about to begin.....

7-17-2009 @ 3:38PM

SPARTY said...

that what you call a class guy he is awesome

7-17-2009 @ 4:07PM

America said...

Thank God for people like you who think of others before themself. God Bless you and good luck with the leg! What is wrong with kids these days? 14 and a thief already, where are his parents??

7-17-2009 @ 4:10PM

nleeb said...

Way to go Mr.Fancher! You did an awesome thing in running that purse snatchint punk down! I am very sure she was thankful for REAL men like you. When I go out,no matter if I am in jeans or a dress and I get my door opened, my groceries taken out,etc. I ALWAYS thank the man with all my heart. If there are other people around,I make SURE to say out loud "Thank you so much for being a gentlemen-there aren't many of you left in the world today"!! An honest smile and an honest thank you goes further than perhaps you realize!. Lee

7-17-2009 @ 4:13PM

bbwiththeo said...

Great job Skyler, too bad the someone other than the thief was injured.

7-17-2009 @ 4:49PM

Cubbies90 said...

Hey, football folks! I wanted to tip my hat off to the Washington Huskies tackler Skyler Fancher. I hope his right leg will be on the mend soon so, he can play harder than before. If he retires from football, would he like to join the law enforcement agency - local police, sheriff or FBI?

Bravo, Skyler!!! From now on, I'll be rooting for the Washington Huskies. No wonder Skyler Fracher is a true Husky as a good guard dog!!!!

Cubbies90

7-18-2009 @ 1:51PM

LesLea said...

Skyler:

I am so proud of you, AGAIN! I would hate to be the 14 year boy & see you coming at me. I am so thankful the lady & you are okay! Great Job Skyler!

It is almost time to play football so take care of your leg. We are ready to see you play!

Everyone in Oklahoma is proud of you!

7-17-2009 @ 5:20PM

warren said...

they'll be lucky if they aren't charged, criminals have rights you know and cops just hate it when we turn vigilante and show them up. Prohibits them from being able to use their little taser that they become so accustomed to. If you detect anger here, you're right on target. Caught my first abuse at age 14 when I saw 2 big ace cops in Tucson seriously injure a Yaqui Indian and I don't care what any of you cops or cop lovers might say in their defense or that at 14 I couldn't make a decision. I was from the old school and if I saw a kid acting up I was all for the parents beatin' the kids ace if necessary and I know the dif. between abuse, excessive and necessary. Now at 66 I move to Marana Az., snag a little piece of land and think life is going to be better for me since I've devoted a lot of time and valuable energy to fighting boom boxes in Tucson, man was I wrong. I encountered the same speed trap mentality from cops here that I went through as a teenager in a little hick town outside Atlanta. On my 4th stop I just had to ask the question, "what the hell does it take to come down this road and not get stopped", since you are observing all the laws? Well this didn't sit well with the rookie cop of 8 months, no previous experience so he set out to teach me a lesson. Fourty three in a 45 becamse 56, pulling in to a large vacant lot and sliding a few feet when I stopped became a reckless, and in court he lied his ace off showing that citizens in the town of Marana Az. are not safe because his department did nothing about these lies or the fact that 2 hours disappeared from his camera which included this stop, no one in the Town Council of Marana has returned a phone call and it was 3 months after my first letter to the town manager that I got a response from him and that was ONLY because I was told I was not allowed in the City Hall. Before you jump on that one bear in mind that NOTHING had been said threatening, loud, aggressive, combative, ONLY my accusation that they had maintained this type of reputation for many years and everyone knew what they were capable of. Being offended at this when I went for some paper work the girl in the City Hall said, "are you Bruce Garrison?" I said, well Warren, she said, "you are not supposed to be on this property". Fearing a law suit for violating my civil rights it was ONLY then that I got a call and apology from the town manager. And so I've been pretty much cursing the day I moved to this town, and you should think twice if you are. That's MARANA ARIZONA.

7-17-2009 @ 7:03PM

chilly16 said...

when your comments are like 2x's the length of the story no one reads them sir...

7-17-2009 @ 7:54PM

hillsamurai said...

I would imagine that you're a just a cantankerous old coot, who thought he was wrong once but was mistaken. There is probably far more to this story than your version.. It would be nice to hear what your neighbors really have to say about you. In fact, I think I'll copy and paste this rant into an email and send it to the good folks at the Marana Az. Police Department.

7-17-2009 @ 9:31PM

meatman0069 said...

Hey Old Man... Get a life, no one on AOL gives a damn........

7-17-2009 @ 10:37PM

Dean Ross said...

Your annoying rant about how much Arizona sucks has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of Skyler Fancher catching a purse snatcher. Arizona is a blazing hot Hell hole, there is nothing about it I liked and I would never live there. Perhaps you should move elsewhere.

7-18-2009 @ 1:07AM

JOHNNIE said...

Christ! I read War and Peace faster than your post. This is a place to write 2 or 3 sentences. You sound like a cranky old buzzard.

7-17-2009 @ 5:29PM

and now that I vented let me congratulate this dude for not sitting there on his butt and allowing crime to go on and not be challenged. I have threatened many times to get a t-shirt that reads, "the system supports crime and encourages criminal activity". Most don't stop to realize that crime is a commodity to cops and the system, they are not about to try and stamp it out. If crime went down then they couldn't get a budget increase, new toys, new vehicles, facilities or hire more men. This is why they hate the vigilante that gets involved and just as I have suffered as I fought crime in my community, they will make you sorry you got in the way of their job. Every time I've followed a drunk or someone that committed a crime 911 would tell me, "ok sir, just let them go, do not follow them", yea right, that way they still have a criminal out there they can feed from next time round. I don't like the system, I don't trust the system, to me they are the lesser of 2 evils, nothing else.

7-17-2009 @ 5:41PM

haneyhardwoods said...

DAMN GOOD JOB, ITS TOO BAD OUR LEGAL SYSTEM WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT, THE LITTLE HOODLUM IS PROBABLY DOING THE SAME THING RIGHT NOW. WHERE IN HELL ARE HIS PARENTS, MOM WOULD OF TANNED MY BACKSIDE IN ALL OF ABOUT 2 MINUTES.

7-17-2009 @ 6:21PM

juscallmebrett said...

I say wtg to antone who gets involved. The Huskies are a better team for having you on it. Would you consider a relocation to say TUSCALOOSA? Roll out with the TIDE and let King Saban get you well.