A set of burglars were busted in Washington state after they forgot to cover up their snow tracks as they fled the scene of the crime, according to authorities.
“How do you find a burglar in the snow?” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department quipped in a statement posted to Facebook.
“Pretty easy, just follow the footprints.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department received a call early Saturday morning for an alarm at the 3400 block of 72nd Street E in Tacoma, according to police. Two deputies went to the scene of the crime while another deputy watched the suspects run in the field, police said.
After investigating the house, deputies found that a window had been broken on the door leading to the residence’s detached garage. Officers called in a K-9 officer for backup and to set up containment areas, according to police.
Once the K-9 arrived, authorities were able to quickly find the perpetrators because they left “two sets of footprints in the snow leading away from the garage and into a church parking lot,” according to police. (RELATED: Police Say Burglar Dies After Window Shuts On His Neck, Suspends Him In Air)
The first set of prints stopped at dumpster in the lot. Police called for the suspect to come out of the dumpster but the suspect did not answer. Upon opening the dumpster police say they found the suspect lying under a piece of cardboard. He was taken into custody without incident, according to police.
Officers then followed a second set of tracks that ended at a tree.
“Deputies called for the second suspect to climb down from the tree and he eventually climbed down a few minutes later and was also arrested.”
Both men were charged with Burglary in the Second Degree and Obstructing a Police Officer, according to police. The suspect who was found hiding in the dumpster was also charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance.