Police say relatives of a man charged with fleeing the scene of an accident misled investigators and helped him evade law enforcement.

Kristine L. Ort, 61, Appleton, and Emily Ort, 25, Clintonville, are charged with conspiracy to aid a felon by falsifying information.

On Aug. 10, Timothy J. Ort, 27, New London, was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident at the intersection of State Highway 54 and Shawano Street in New London.

Witnesses told police that they saw a black Cadillac CTS slam into another vehicle from behind, then drive off. The Cadillac was last seen going west on County Trunk T.

The driver of the other car suffered neck injuries.

Witnesses provided police with a license plate number for the Cadillac. When police ran a records check, the plate number came back as a 2013 Dodge Charger belonging to Ort’s aunt, Kristine Ort.

According to the criminal complaint, when New London Police Officer Ryan Denu spoke with Kristine Ort about her car, she said she owned the Dodge, but her niece and nephew used it.

Kristine Ort, who owns Ort Sawmill on County T, reportedly said she did not know where Ort lived, that sometimes he stayed at the sawmill and he may be staying with a friend in Bear Creek.

She also said she did not believe her niece or nephew owned a Cadillac, police say.

Police say that Emily Ort later came to the New London Police Department, driving the Dodge Charger, which had the same plates that witnesses reported at the hit-and-run accident.

She reportedly told police that she had possession of the Dodge the day of the accident and did not know why witnesses said the Dodge’s license plate had been on the Cadillac involved in the crash.

Denu called Kristine Ort again and asked if either her niece or nephew owned a Cadillac, She said she had never seen either of them drive such a vehicle, according to the complaint.

On Aug. 16, New London Police Sgt. Earl Ruckdashel went to the Ort Sawmill. He was looking for Timothy Ort, who had failed to appear at a scheduled interview about the Aug. 10 crash.

Although Timothy Ort was not at the sawmill, the Dodge was there.

On Aug. 29, Ruckdashel spoke with Kristine Ort again. He asked if the Charger was still at the sawmill. According to the complaint, she said it was not there, Timothy Ort had put the car in storage, but she did not know where.

New London police later learned that Timothy Ort had been involved in another accident involving a mailbox in the Clintonville area. That incident resulted in traffic citations for failure to notify police of an accident, failure to keep a vehicle under control and operating a vehicle while suspended.

On Sept. 5, Ruckdashel arrested Timothy Ort while he was driving a truck on County Trunk D near Bear Creek.

On Sept. 6, Timothy Ort was charged with hit and run causing injury, conspiracy to aid a felon by falsifying information as party to a crime, and operating without a license. He was released from custody after posting a $1,500 cash bond.