Video: Auto Thief On Run Found Up A Tree By Tampa Police Aviation Unit

TAMPA, FL — On Friday, a man who stole a sports utility vehicle from Polk County was eventually found literally up a tree in a Tampa neighborhood.

During a call Friday, Tampa police officers, using lights and sirens on their police vehicles, attempted to pull over a stolen sports utility vehicle that was being followed by a Tampa police helicopter. The helicopter pilot tracked the SUV heading west from the Tampa city limits along Interstate 4 to Interstate 275.

But, before the officers could pull over the SUV, it fled into a nearby neighborhood.

While patrol officers and K-9s searched the neighborhood on foot, the helicopter pilot canvassed the neighborhood from the sky.

Undaunted by the thief's apparent escape, the helicopter pilot uses heat sensors and spots the thief hiding in a tree. The pilot alerted patrols on the ground who took the car thief into custody.

In addition to being charged with vehicle theft, he was charged with fleeing to elude and resisting an officer without violence.