Video: Calif. Police Drone Finds Burglary Suspect Hiding in Crawlspace

May 13, 2025

When Oceanside police flew a drone between ceiling tiles and the roof of a strip mall to search for a burglary suspect, officers found the man pretending to sleep before he partially fell through the tiles.

By Teri Figueroa

Source The San Diego Union-Tribune

Oceanside police had already spotted the burglary suspect inside the strip mall early Friday morning. They knew he was in the building. Question was, where?

The answer came after officers flew a drone between the ceiling tiles and the roof of the building, where they found their suspect feigning sleep before he partially fell through the tiles, Oceanside police said in a news release Friday.

Just after 3:15 a.m., police responded to a burglary alarm in a business on Mission Avenue just west of Canyon Avenue. When officers got there, they saw a suspect inside the premises, police said.

Several officers, including a K-9 unit from the Sheriff’s Office, searched inside but could not find him. They thought he might be in the ceiling crawlspace — so they put a drone above the ceiling tiles and found a man.

He fell through the ceiling tiles, but a wire caught him and saved him from crashing to the floor, Lt. Michael Provence said. Officers were able to help him down.

The 36-year-old was arrested and booked into Vista Detention Center on suspicion of burglary and what police said was an outstanding warrant.

Oceanside police have used drones since 2016, and while this was not the first time a suspect has been located in a ceiling, it is not common, Provence said.

The drone use Friday was not related to a still-in-the-works program to send a drone to a scene immediately after a call and possibly before officers arrive. The Oceanside City Council voted last month to approve the proposal as a 13-month pilot program.

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