BLND MANS BLUFF: Air Support Direct Troopers To Man Hiding In Tree

This dramatic video shows police tracking down a robber hiding in a tree with the help of air support.

Once they were on the scene, thick foliage made it difficult for Massachusetts State Troopers on patrol to track the cook in the early morning search at Worcester in Massachusetts.

As a result, an officer ends up standing with his arms outstretched as if playing blind man's bluff so he can be directed to the tree holding the criminal.

The suspect had broken into the Shoe Supply Store at 1114 Pleasant St. in Worcester a short time earlier and fled in a 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan.

Worcester Police observed the suspect fleeing the scene and pursued, with Troopers in a secondary position behind Worcester officers. When the suspect vehicle entered Route 146 southbound Troopers assumed the primary position in the pursuit.

The pursuit continued onto the Massachusetts Turnpike eastbound, where it continued for approximately 20 miles before the suspect vehicle struck a Stinger tire deflation device put down in its path in Southborough by Troopers ahead of the pursuit route.

The suspect vehicle became disabled and crashed into the woodline whereupon the male suspect, the only occupant of the vehicle, got out and ran into the woods.

MSP patrols and K-9 teams, along with local officers, established a perimeter and began a search. State Police Air 4, a helicopter from the MSP Air Wing crewed by Sgt. Gregg Spooner and Troopers Joshua Pacheco and Mason Oliveira, launched and joined the search. The flight crew established ongoing communication with ground units and conducted an aerial search utilizing, among other equipment, the aircraft’s Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera.

At approximately 4:20 AM MSP Air 4’s crew located the suspect hiding in a large tree, some 25-30 feet off the ground, in the backyard of a home on Cordaville Road in Southborough.

The flight crew directed patrols and a K9 team on the ground to the tree, and Troopers and Southborough Officers commanded the suspect to come down. The suspect complied and was taken into custody and transferred to Worcester Police for the investigation into the commercial breaking and entering.

State Police will summons the suspect for additional motor vehicle charges related to the pursuit.