Seattle police officers got a break Thursday when a burglary suspect hidden in an Alki neighborhood treehouse revealed his presence by yelling, “I give up.”
Police, alerted by an off-duty firefighter, were tracking the burglar with a K9 unit. The firefighter saw the suspect steal several packages from a locked apartment complex shortly before 1 PM and then followed him in a truck, reporting back to police. He saw the suspect ditch a backpack in a recycling bin, but then lost track of him.
The K9 unit picked up the burglar’s trail. When officers walked to the front yard of a home in the 6200 block of Southwest Admiral Way, they heard the suspect broadcast that he was hiding, completely out of sight, in a small wooden tree house. He was ordered to come out.
Officers recovered the backpack, which contained stolen property, and other items the burglar had discarded while running away. Police were able to return stolen property to owners. The suspect was booked into King County Jail on burglary charges.