If Edmonds police had any doubt they got their man Tuesday afternoon, the police dog assisting on the case made sure they weren’t barking up the wrong tree. The dog tracked the suspect directly to the police car in which he was sitting.

Police receiving a tip from an Edmonds resident who saw a burglar breaking into a neighbor’s home in the 7900 block of 227th Place Southwest around 2 p.m. Tuesday and began searching for the fleeing burglar, who had left the home shortly before police arrived. Two minutes after arriving on scene, an Edmonds officer located a likely suspect a few blocks south of the victim’s home, Edmonds Police Sgt. Mike Blackburn said.

A Lynnwood Police K-9 unit arrived to assist, and the police dog began tracking the burglar’s scent away from the victim’s home, Blackburn said.  Meanwhile, the detained man complained about being overheated, so he removed his outer shirt and set it nearby. While the police dog proceeded to track the scent, the detained man was safely secured in a police car. Moments later, the police dog tracked directly to the car containing the likely suspect. Then to further confirm he found his man, the dog snatched the man’s shirt from where the suspect had left it outside the car.

The witness then positively identified the detained suspect as the man seen breaking into the neighbor’s home, Blackburn said. Subsequent to his arrest, the suspect was found to be in possession of several articles stolen from the victim’s home. The 26-year old Seattle man was booked into jail on suspicion of residential burglary.